Climate Change Litigation Before the European Court of Human Rights: What Hurdles and Legal Avenues?

Abstract

This thesis aims at exploring in details the four climate cases brought before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) in light of the Court’s precedent environmental case law. As those four cases are the first one of this type, many legal questions arise. More specifically, the thesis will first explore the way these climate-based lawsuits compare with case law developed by the Court on the relationship between human rights and the environment. It will then investigate the way the climate litigation cases have been framed to pursue climate objectives. Finally, the thesis will address the question of whether the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR) can provide the legal remedies to challenge the alleged breach of fundamental rights due to a lack of climate mitigation policies from States. The thesis will argue that most solutions are to be found in the already existing case law of the Court, and that the Court has all the keys to deliver a groundbreaking judgment that could serve as an example to other human rights jurisdictions and beyond.