Climate Litigation Database

This database contains domestic, regional and international case-law related to human rights and climate change (work on completing the database is in progress). Click on an entry to see more information about a given case, including summaries, commentary, and links to further information.

    Youth v. Government of Mexico

    Domestic court proceedings

    Summary: On 5 December 2019, the plaintiffs filed for protection against several authorities and acts. Notably, they claimed that the…

    Tsama William & 47 Ors v. Uganda

    Domestic court proceedings

    Summary: The case was initiated following multiple landslides that occurred in December 2019 in the Bududa district in Eastern Uganda,…

    Tristan Runge et al. v. Sachsen

    Domestic court proceedings

    Summary: This case is one of ten separate constitutional complaints and one subsidiary popular complaint supported by the NGO Deutsche…

    Thomas & De Freitas v. Guyana

    Domestic court proceedings

    Summary: On 21 May 2021, two Guayanese citizens filed a case in the domestic courts of Guayana, alleging that their…

    The Prosecutor v. Bolsonaro

    International Criminal Court

    Summary: On 12 October 2021, the Austrian NGO AllRise, which advocates for interests linked with the environment, democracy, and the…

    Smith v. Attorney-General

    Domestic court proceedings

    Summary: In March 2022, a prominent Māori landowner and advocate for tribal climate concerns took a significant step by bringing…

    Reynolds and Others v. Florida

    Domestic court proceedings

    Summary: In this case, eight young people asserted that the “deliberate indifference” of the US state of Florida, its Governor…

    Mex Müllner v. Austria

    European Court of Human Rights

    Summary: On 25 March 2021, a yet-uncommunicated application was filed before the European Court of Human Rights concerning the impact…

    Marlene Lemme et al. v. Bayern

    Domestic court proceedings

    Summary: This case is one of ten separate constitutional complaints and one subsidiary popular complaint supported by the NGO Deutsche…

    Luca Salis et al. v. Sachsen-Anhalt

    Domestic court proceedings

    Summary:This constitutional complaint was brought by three young people against the German State (“Bundesland”) of Sachsen-Anhalt in the wake of…

    Lho’imggin et al. v. Canada

    Domestic court proceedings

    Summary: This case was brought by two houses of the Wet’suwet’en indigenous group against Canada on 10 February 2020. The…

    Leonie Frank et al. v. Saarland

    Domestic court proceedings

    Summary:This case is one of ten separate constitutional complaints and one subsidiary popular complaint supported by the NGO Deutsche Umwelthilfe…

    Leghari v. Pakistan

    Domestic court proceedings

    Summary: In Leghari v. Pakistan, a farmer claimed that his fundamental rights, including the right to life, the right to…

    Jasansky and Others v. Austria

    Domestic court proceedings

    Summary: On 10 November 2023, it was reported that a climate-related application had been filed with the European Court of…

    Held and Others v. Montana

    Domestic court proceedings

    Summary: In Held and Others, sixteen young plaintiffs aged between two and eighteen brought a case against the U.S. state…

    Hahn et al. v APR Energy S.R.L.

    Domestic court proceedings

    Summary: The legal action centred on the construction and operation of Matheu II and Matheu III, thermoelectric power plants in…

    Greenpeace Spain et al. v. Spain

    Domestic court proceedings

    Summary: In 2020, three environmental NGOs (Greenpeace, Ecologistas en Acción and Oxfam Intermón) challenged the level of ambition of the…

    ENVironnement JEUnesse v. Canada

    Domestic court proceedings

    Summary: In 2018, the environmental NGO ENvironnement JEUnesse applied for leave to bring a class action case against the Canadian…

    Ecodefense and Others v. Russia

    Domestic court proceedings

    Summary: In 2022, the NGOs Ecodefense and Moscow Helsinki Group, together with a group of individual plaintiffs representing Fridays for…

    Do-Hyun Kim et al. v. South Korea

    Domestic court proceedings

    Summary: On 13 March 2020, nineteen teenagers from across South Korea initiated proceedings against their government (the National Assembly of…

    Carême v. France

    European Court of Human Rights

    Summary: On 7 June 2022, the European Court of Human Rights announced the relinquishment of an application against France concerning…

    The database is correct to the best of our knowledge, and is regularly updated. Errors and omissions may, however, occur.