Climate Litigation
“It’s the democracy, stupid!” in defence of KlimaSeniorinnen
ERA Forum, February 2025
Professor Christina Eckes latest article highlights that in the KlimaSeniorinnen case, the European Court of Human Rights gave a ruling that strengthens the ability of democracies in Europe to address the climate crisis. On several key issues, the Court’s position appears to be centrally motivated by protecting a robust democratic process.
Abstract
Small numbers of litigants asking a small number of unelected judges to impose limits on majoritarian decision-making stands at least prima facie in tension with majoritarianism as a central legitimizing principle of democracy in Europe. In KlimaSeniorinnen, the European Court of Human Rights required the Contracting Parties to quantify a fair share national carbon budget. Several aspects of the ruling demonstrate great deference to the national democratic process: how the Court emphasized climate exceptionalism, extended NGO standing, reduced the States’ margin of discretion in relation to their (international) climate commitments, and approached extraterritoriality.
