Category: Victim status

Categories
Adaptation Argentina Children and young people Deforestation Domestic court Emissions reductions/mitigation Right to a healthy environment Right to health Right to life Rights of nature Victim status

Asociación Civil por la Justicia Ambiental v. Province of Entre Ríos et al. (Paraná Delta case)

Summary:
This case, brought to the Supreme Court of Argentina after severe fires in a wetland ecosystem in the Paraná Delta (Delta del Paraná) in Argentina, was filed by two NGOs and a group of local children (represented by their parents) as a collective environmental ‘amparo’ claim against the local and provincial governments. The applicants invoke their rights to a healthy environment, to life, to health, and to physical integrity under the Argentinean Constitution, as well as invoking the Convention on the Rights of the Child and drawing on the UNFCCC and the Paris Agreement.

The action concerns alleged protection failures concerning the preservation of the wetlands of the Paraná Delta, and concerns more than three thousand fires ensuring from the indiscriminate burning of grasslands. The claimants urge the Supreme Court to declare the declare the Paraná Delta a subject of rights given that it consitutes an essential ecosystem in its region, including due to the ecosystem services it performs related to the mitigation and adaptation to climate change. The also request the court to order the respondents to prepare and implement measures to regulate and protect the ecosystem given its endangerment in the face of climate change and the need to protect it for future generations. They argue that a guardian should be designated for this ecosystem, and that local communites should be involved in decision-making relevant to its management, considering in this regard the terms of the Escazú Agreement.

Current status of the case:

The case was filed on 3 July 2020. Given the existence of other similar complaints, the Supreme Court decided on 21 December 2021 that it would issue one judgment concerning all relevant complaints.

Suggested citation:

Supreme Court of Argentina, Asociación Civil por la Justicia Ambiental v. Province of Entre Ríos et al., Doc. CSJ 542/2020, decision of 28 December 2021.

Last updated:

18 March 2023

Categories
Access to a remedy Austria Disability and health-related inequality Emissions reductions/mitigation European Convention on Human Rights European Court of Human Rights Fair trial Paris Agreement Private and family life Right to life Victim status Vulnerability

Müllner v. Austria

Summary:
On 25 March 2021, an application was filed before the European Court of Human Rights concerning the impact of climate change (specifically, temperature increases) on an applicant suffering from temperature-sensitive multiple sclerosis and Uhthoff’s syndrome. The applicant alleged a violation of his rights under Article 8 ECHR by the failure by the Austrian government to set effective greenhouse gas emissions reduction measures.

The applicant alleged in particular that, at temperatures above 25 degrees Celsius, he is no longer able to walk, and that above 30 degrees Celsius, he loses complete control over his muscular movement. He alleged that, by failing to sufficiently reduce its emissions to meet the goals set out in the Paris Agreement, the respondent State had not only made it impossible to meet the 1,5 degree Celsius warming target set out therein, but had even actively taken measures to exacerbate the climate crisis, including through subsidies and incentives. The applicant also alleged that the domestic State’s legal system systemically impeded him from challenging the climate policies at stake, and the government’s inaction in this regard. This, he submitted, reflects a systemic deficit in the domestic legal system, making it impossible to challenge inaction by the State.

The applicant invoked the right to respect for private and family life in Article 8 ECHR, and subsidiarily the right to life in Article 2 ECHR, as well as the rights to access to a remedy and fair trial in Articles 13 and 6 ECHR.

The case was initially adjourned pending the outcome of Grand Chamber proceedings in three other climate cases, in which the Court issued its rulings on 9 April 2024 (KlimaSeniorinnen, Duarte Agostinho and Carême). On 1 July 2024, it was announced that the Court had communicated the case to the Austrian government. The Court also granted the case priority under Article 41 of the Rules of Court, meaning that it will receive expedited treatment.

Status of case:
The case was communicated to the Austrian government on 1 July 2024 as per the Court’s press release below.

In communicating the case, the Court asked the following questions of the parties:

1.  Is the application admissible? In particular:

a.  Has the applicant exhausted all effective domestic remedies, as required by Article 35 § 1 of the Convention in respect of each of his complaints lodged with the Court under Articles 6, 8 and 13 of the Convention (see Duarte Agostinho and Others v. Portugal and Others (dec.) [GC], no. 39371/20, § 215, 9 April 2024, and Communauté genevoise d’action syndicale (CGAS) v. Switzerland [GC], no. 21881/20, §§ 138-145, 27 November 2023)?

b.  Can the applicant claim to be a victim of a violation of Article 8 of the Convention, within the meaning of Article 34 of the Convention (see Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland [GC], no. 53600/20, §§ 460-472, 478-488, 527-535, 9 April 2024)?

c.  Was Article 6 § 1 of the Convention under its civil head applicable to the proceedings in the present case (see Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others, cited above, §§ 594-625)?

2.  To the extent that the complaints are admissible, has there been a violation of Articles 6, 8 and 13 of the Convention? In particular:

a.  Has there been an interference with the applicant’s right to respect for his private and family life or home, within the meaning of Article 8 § 1 of the Convention?

Did the respondent State fail to comply with its positive obligations to effectively protect the applicant’s respect for his private and family life, including his home (see Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others, cited above, §§ 538-574)?

b.  Did the applicant have access to a court for the determination of his civil rights and obligations, in accordance with Article 6 § 1 of the Convention (see Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others, cited above, §§ 626-640)?

Did the manner in which the Constitutional Court applied Articles 139 and 140 of the Federal Constitution involve excessive formalism (see Zubac v. Croatia [GC], no. 40160/12, §§ 80-86, 96-99, 5 April 2018, and Dos Santos Calado and Others v. Portugal, nos. 55997/14 and 3 others, §§ 111-117, 31 March 2020)?

c.  Did the applicant have at his disposal an effective domestic remedy for his Convention complaints, as required by Article 13 of the Convention?

Suggested case citation:
ECtHR, Müllner v. Austria, application no. 18859/21, filed on 25 March 2021, communicated on 1 July 2024.

Links:
For the last-instance domestic judgment in this case, see here: https://www.vfgh.gv.at/downloads/VfGH_Beschluss_G_144_2020_vom_30._September_2020.pdf

For the full text of the application to the Court, see here: https://www.michaelakroemer.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/rechtsanwaeltin-michaela-kroemer-klimaklage-petition.pdf

For more information on the case from Fridays for Future Austria, see here.

For a statement from the applicant’s lawyer, Michaela Kroemer, see here.

Last updated:
1 July 2024.

Categories
Access to a remedy Czechia Domestic court Emissions reductions/mitigation European Convention on Human Rights Private and family life Right to life Uncategorized Victim status

Klimatická žaloba ČR, z.s. and Others v. Czech Republic

Summary:

On 21 April 2021, the plaintiffs in this case (Klimatická žaloba ČR, an NGO established for the purpose of climate litigation; the Municipality of Svatý Jan pod Skalou; the Czech Ornithological Society; and four individuals) initiated a civil action against unlawful interference, naming four ministries of the Czech government and the Czech government (cabinet) as defendants. They contested failures to provide adequate and necessary mitigation and adaptation measures to protect against the adverse effects of climate change. They also alleged that the Czech government’s failures to adequately address climate change had violated the rights to life, health, a healthy environment, and other rights guaranteed by the Czech constitution, the Czech Charter of Fundamental Rights and Freedoms, and the European Convention on Human Rights. They alleged that this interference was constituted by their failure to implement concrete measures for the mitigation of climate change, based on international law (in particular, the Paris Agreement), EU law, and Article 35 of the Czech Charter on Fundamental Rights (Charter), which provides for the right to a favourable environment.

The plaintiffs sought a declaration that the Czech government failed to respect their rights by ensuring sufficient emissions reductions to meet the Paris Agreement’s targets. They also sought an order setting the Czech carbon budget at 800 Mt CO2 from January 2021 until the end of the century.

The plaintiffs were initially successful before the Municipal Court of Prague, whose judgment was subsequently annulled by the Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic. On 5 February 2025, the plaintiffs filed a constitutional complaint before the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic alleging violations of several rights under the Charter and Articles 2, 8 and 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR).  

Procedural History 

The first instance the plaintiffs approached was the Municipal Court in Prague. On 15 June 2022, the Municipal Court rendered a judgment in favour of the plaintiffs, declaring that each of the four ministries had unlawfully interfered with the applicants’ right to a favourable environment under of Article 35 of the Charter, on the grounds that they had not undertaken measures for the state to achieve a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030, compared to 1990 levels. It held that the claims against the cabinet as inadmissible as it did not constitute an ‘administrative authority’ against whom claims of unlawful interference could be brought under the Czech Code of Administrative Justice. 

Both the parties appealed against this judgment. The defendant ministries (appellants) argued that the Municipal Court exceeded its competence in breach of the separation of powers doctrine and interpreted EU and international law incorrectly. The plaintiffs (cross-appellants) argued that the Municipal Court erred in declining the cabinet’s capacity to be sued and ought to have prescribed a more ambitious mitigation target than the 55% target for the Czech government to achieve. On 20 February 2023, the Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) overruled the Municipal Court’s decision on account of the separation of powers doctrine and found that it incorrectly interpreted the EU climate target (entailing 55% emission reduction by 2030) as EU law does not prescribe a specific mandatory emissions reduction target for the Czech Republic alone. Since this was a cassation appeal, the SAC remanded the case to the Municipal Court. Following a remand and a subsequent dismissal by the Municipal Court, the plaintiffs’ final appeal to the SAC was unsuccessful.

Claims

The plaintiffs thus filed a complaint before the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic, seeking an annulment of the SAC and Municipal Court decisions on account of violations of their rights under Articles 6, 10, 11, 26, 31, 35 and 36 of the Charter and Articles 2, 6 and 8 of the ECHR. 

In support of their arguments, the plaintiffs relied on climate jurisprudence from the Netherlands, France, Germany, Ireland, Nepal, Colombia, and most importantly, the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights, which emphasize the judiciary’s role in reviewing the state’s mitigation policy based on human rights law. They also placed heavy reliance on the interpretation of Article 8 of the ECHR laid down in the case of Verein KlimaSeniorinnen and Others v. Switzerland to challenge the lack of a national carbon budget for the Czech Republic, a climate neutrality target, and binding intermediate emission reduction targets. Furthermore, they problematized the SAC’s use of European Climate Law (which provides for a framework for emissions reduction targets to be achieved by EU member states collectively) as a shield against the plaintiffs’ human rights claims against the Czech Republic. 

Judgment

On 22 October 2025, the Constitutional Court issued its ruling wherein it dismissed the plaintiffs’ requests by emphasizing on the form of action they used to bring the claim before the Municipal Court (and SAC). Under the Code of Administrative Justice, the administrative authorities in question could only be regarded as having produced an unlawful interference by failing to implement their statutory duties. The Court found the plaintiffs had not proven how the ministries could adopt the requested measures within their existing legal authorizations. It also held that neither the Constitution nor the ECHR specifically obligate the four named ministries to adopt the measures requested by the applicants. 

Regarding the KlimaSeniorinnen judgment, the Constitutional Court held that while the ECtHR is an international court which assesses the actions of the state as a whole, its own role was limited to examining the conduct of the named defendant ministries. Finally, it held that the administrative courts did not violate the plaintiffs’ right of access to the court (Article 36 of the Charter, and Article 6 of the ECHR) as it found the courts to have examined each of their submissions and ruled on the entire subject matter of the proceedings. 

Status: 

The Constitutional Court ruling is final and cannot be appealed.

On 2 February 2026, the NGO Klimatická žaloba ČR submitted an application to the ECtHR alleging violations of Articles 8, 6 and 13 of the ECHR. 

Links:

The ruling of the Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic can be found here.

The Municipal Court of Prague Judgment from 15 June 2022 (finding in favour of the plaintiffs) can be found here (Czech) and here (unofficial English translation). 

The decision of the Supreme Administrative Court of the Czech Republic (SAC), annulling the Municipal Court of Prague Judgment from 15 June 2022, dated 20 February 2023 can be found here (Czech).

The Municipal Court of Prague Judgment from 25 October 2023 (upon remand of the case from the SAC) can be found here.

The second decision of the SAC dated 26 November 2024 (dismissing the plaintiffs’ appeal) can be found here.

All other case related documents can be found on the website of the NGO Klimatická žaloba. 

Suggested citation: 

Constitutional Court of the Czech Republic, Klimatická žaloba ČR, z.s. and Others v. Ministry of the Environment, Ministry of Industry and Trade, Ministry of Agriculture, and Ministry of Transport, Czech Republic, Pl. ÚS 6/25, 22 October 2025, Judge Veronika Křesťanová (judge rapporteur).

Last updated:
12 March 2026.

Categories
2021 Access to a remedy Children and young people EU/European Court of Justice Non-discrimination Private and family life Right to life Victim status

Armando Carvalho and Others v. Parliament 

Summary:
This case, also known as ‘The People’s Climate Case’, was brought by families from different Member States of the European Union. The families, who are active in the agricultural or tourism sectors, brought the case to the General Court of the European Union together with a Swedish association representing young indigenous people. They claimed that the measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions that had been laid down by a legislative package from 2018 were not far-reaching enough. They demanded stricter measures: the aim should be to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by at least 50 – 60% by 2030, when compared to 1990 levels. In doing so, the applicants argued that an insufficient reduction in greenhouse gas emissions infringed their fundamental rights as enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union, namely the right to life (Article 2), the right to the integrity of the person (Article 3), the rights of the child (Article 24), the right to engage in work and to pursue a freely chosen or accepted occupation (Article 15), the freedom to conduct a business (Article 16), the right to property (Article 17) and the right to equal treatment (Articles 20 and 21).

The General Court declared the action inadmissible because the claimants had no locus standi. The claimants appealed to the Court of Justice. They claimed that the Court should set aside the order under appeal, declare the actions at first instance admissible, and refer the case back to the General Court. The Court of Justice dismissed the appeal. The Court held that the claim that an act of the EU infringes fundamental rights is not sufficient to establish admissibility of an action brought by an individual.

Deciding body:
European Court of Justice (European Union)

Date of resolution:
25 March 2021

Admissibility:
The General Court declared the action inadmissible because the claimants did not satisfy any of the locus standi criteria under its strict ‘Plaumann’ test. The Court held that the claimants were not individually concerned, because they were not the addressees of the acts at issue. The Court of Justice dismissed the appeal, and emphasized that the mere fact of alleging that a legal act of the Union infringes fundamental rights does not mean that an individual’s action is admissible; otherwise the meaning of the admissibility requirements laid down in the TFEU would be meaningless. According to the case-law of the Court of Justice, the European Union courts cannot, without exceeding their powers, deviate from the express provisions of the TFEU, this also applies to the fundamental right to effective judicial protection enshrined in the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union

Full text
The full text of the decision is available here.

Further developments:
EU Regulation 1367/2006/EU, the ‘Aarhus Regulation’, was amended on 6 October 2021. This decision expanded NGO’s abilities to challenge administrative acts contravening environmental law. For an analysis of ensuing developments by Juliette Delarue, see here.

Additional reading:
On the 2019 decision on the case by the General Court, see Gerd Winter, ‘Armando Carvalho and Others v. EU: Invoking Human Rights and the Paris Agreement for Better Climate Protection Legislation’ 9(1) Transnational Environmental Law (2020), 137-164, available here.

Suggested case citation:
ECJ, Armando Carvalho and Others v. The European Parliament and the Council, no. C-565/19 P, Judgment of 25 March 2021.

Last updated:
26 August 2023