A ruling in the case Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland (application no. 53600/20) is expected in the course of the spring. The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) has responded to a corresponding request of the Senior Women for Climate Protection Switzerland (KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz) and the four individual applicants. The senior women therefore expect the ruling to be handed down in the next three months, most likely in a public hearing.
It is likely that the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR will also issue a ruling on the other two climate cases Duarte Agostinho and Others v. Portugal and 32 Other States (no. 39371/20) and Carême v. France (no. 7189/21) during the same period. Switzerland is a respondent in both the Climate Seniors’ case and the Portuguese Youth v. 32 States in Europe case. It is expected that the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR will use the three climate cases to develop principles on the question of whether and to what extent states with an inadequate climate policy violate their duty to protect human rights.
The Swiss Senior Women will be informed of the exact date of the ruling a few weeks in advance. As soon as this is known, the Senior Women and Greenpeace Switzerland will communicate again.
The issue
The Swiss Senior Women and the four individual applicants are taking their case to the ECtHR because Switzerland is pursuing an inadequate climate policy and thus violating their human rights.
All relevant documents relating to the Swiss climate case are available on the Swiss Seniors’ website. In particular, we would like to draw your attention to the following documents:
- The response of the Swiss Senior Women to Switzerland’s last-minute submission with annex 1 – expert report on emissions budget, annex 2 – response of Climate Analytics and annex 3 – response of Climate Action Tracker on 28 April 2023.
- Public hearing of 29 March 2023 before the Grand Chamber of the ECtHR:
- The oral statement
- Video recording of the public hearing
- Transcript of the public hearing
- Submission by the Senior Women for Climate Protection to the Grand Chamber on 2 December 2022 (English title: Observations on the facts, admissibility and the merits)
- Submission by the Swiss Government to the Grand Chamber on 5 December 2022 (Statement in French (original) and English (unofficial translation) – and observations on the facts in French (original) and English (unofficial translation)
- Submissions by the 23 third parties to the Grand Chamber
- Pictures and videos of the Senior Women for Climate Protection Switzerland
- Press releases of the Senior Women for Climate Protection Switzerland
Accreditation for media representatives at the ECtHR
If you have any questions regarding participation in the delivery of the judgment, please contact the ECtHR Press Service directly.
Contacts
Press office Greenpeace Switzerland, +41 44 447 41 11, [email protected]
Cordelia Bähr, Lawyer of Senior Women for Climate Protection Switzerland: [email protected], +41 78 801 70 34
Rosmarie Wydler-Wälti, co-president of Senior Women for Climate Protection Switzerland: [email protected], +41 61 302 96 35 (for interviews in German)
Anne Mahrer, co-president of Senior Women for Climate Protection Switzerland: [email protected], +41 79 249 72 17 (for interviews in French)
Elisabeth Stern, member of the board of Senior Women for Climate Protection Switzerland: [email protected], +41 79 351 22 00
Norma Bargetzi, member of the board of Senior Women for Climate Protection Switzerland: [email protected], +41 79 352 98 89 (for interviews in Italian)
Georg Klingler, Project Coordinator and Climate Campaigner Greenpeace Switzerland: [email protected], +41 79 785 07 38