Verein Klimaseniorinnen and others v. Switzerland between human rights protection and human rights justification

Abstract

The recent decision of the ECtHR on the case Verein KlimaSeniorinnen remarkably innovated its jurisprudence on environmental cases. After a description of the case and its elements of continuity and novelty, we will focus on a neglected aspect of this dispute and the final decision, namely that an important element of the Swiss government’s defense has been the justification of its (in)action through (participatory) human rights. Switzerland has indeed claimed that its system of semidirect democracy – that ensures wide participatory rights – allows individuals and societal groups to participate and be heard in the context of climate change policies, thus giving them sufficient channels of involvement in this area. The article suggests that more attention should have been paid to this aspect of the Swiss stance of the dispute. This would have perhaps eased the tensions that arose after the ruling and facilitated its implementation.