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With the ruling of the European Court of Justice, Swiss senior citizens are making judicial history. It’s all about this.
What is it about? The “Climate Seniors” association has achieved a victory before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR). The Strasbourg judges responded to the complaint that Switzerland was not doing enough to combat climate change. The verdict: Switzerland’s lack of climate protection violated the human rights of the complaining senior citizens. The women’s right to private and family life and their right to a fair trial were affected. In addition, Switzerland did not present sufficient and convincing arguments as to why it did not want to respond to the association’s complaint.
Four individual plaintiffs have also sued the federal government. However, their complaint was not accepted by the ECHR. The reason: Individuals must specifically demonstrate their so-called victim status in relation to a state’s inaction.
Why is this ruling significant? The ECHR ruling is historic: “With this ruling, the court opens up the possibility for climate protectors far beyond Switzerland to take legal action if effective climate measures cannot be implemented politically,” says Fredy Gsteiger, diplomatic correspondent for SRF. The approach of the Swiss climate seniors is likely to be groundbreaking and have consequences in all 46 member states of the Council of Europe.
Who are the climate seniors? The “Climate Senior Women” association consists of over 2,500 pensioners. It was founded in 2016 – at that time with 150 women. Since then, they have been actively committed to climate protection in Switzerland. However, the initiative for the lawsuit against the federal government came from Greenpeace. After a similar case in the Netherlands, the non-governmental organization was convinced that state climate policy could violate fundamental rights and looked for possible victims in Switzerland. This is a strategic process, which is quite common for activists.
Legend: The climate seniors have been committed to climate protection for eight years. Now they have made judicial history. (Image: In front of the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg, March 29, 2023) Keystone/ Jean-Christophe Bott
What do the climate seniors want? The climate seniors say the federal government is violating their human rights. With the climate policy it has adopted, Switzerland is missing the climate goals to which it has committed itself as part of the Paris Climate Agreement. Therefore, Switzerland is not doing enough to prevent the health of climate seniors from being put at risk as much as possible. Because older women are becoming increasingly sick or dying as a result of more frequent and intense heat periods, Switzerland’s climate policy affects them directly.
What does the ruling mean for Switzerland? The ruling must now be implemented directly by the Swiss government, said Gsteiger. Because the highest instance judgments of the ECHR are binding. The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe will monitor this. The Court of Human Rights left it open how Switzerland would achieve its goals.
But it won’t be easy for Switzerland. Their official representatives at the verdict were careful not to criticize the ECHR decision. They respect them and will now analyze where Switzerland needs to improve. But implementation will be difficult, says Gsteiger. Because in some areas the government and the authorities cannot decide autonomously, but need the support of parliament and the electorate.