Reply made on October 13, 2021 by the Swiss Women Ass'n (Part 1 - Summary)

For a summary of the Swiss case, see <a href="https://climatecasechart.com/non-us-case/union-of-swiss-senior-women-for-climate-protection-v-swiss-federal-parliament/">here</a>.

After having exhausted all national remedies available, with the final decision from the Swiss Supreme Court communicated to the parties in May 2020, on November 26, 2020 an association of senior women (Senior Women for Climate Protection Switzerland) took the Swiss government to the European Court of Human Rights because their health is threatened by heat waves made worse by the climate crisis. They also requested the case to be treated under the expenditure procedure pursuant to Article 41 of the Rules of the Court.

The application listed three main complaints: Switzerland's inadequate climate policies violate the women's right life and health under Articles 2 and 8 of the ECHR; the Swiss Federal Supreme Court's rejected their case on arbitrary grounds, in violation of the right to a fair trial under Article 6; and the Swiss authorities and courts did not deal with the content of their complaints, in violation of the right to an effective remedy in Article 13.

The ECtHR preliminary accepted the case and communicated it to the Swiss government on March 25, 2021. The ECtHR gave the case priority status and called on Switzerland to submit a response by July 16, 2021, which was timely filed.

On September 21, 2021, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and the Swiss Section of the ICJ submitted a third-party intervention providing observations on the effects of climate change on the right to life and the right to respect for private and family life and for the home and the positive obligations of States resulting from these rights, in light of principles of international environmental law, among other issues. The European Network of National Human Rights Institutions (ENNHR) also submitted a third-party intervention.

On October 13, 2021, the petitioner replied to the Swiss government's response to the ECtHR, arguing that the Swiss government failed to protect the Applicants' rights to life and private life under Arts. 2 and 8 ECHR, by failing to adopt the necessary legislative and administrative framework to do its share to prevent a global temperature increase of more than 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.

On April 26, 2022, the Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights relinquished jurisdiction in favor of the Grand Chamber of the Court. The case is now going to be examined by the ECtHR's Grand Chamber of 17 judges on account of the fact that the case raises a serious question affecting the interpretation of the Convention (Art 30 ECHR). 

On December 2, 2022, the applicants submitted a petition highlighting observations on the facts, admissibility and the merits. On December 5, 2022, several organizations, including the Sabin Center for Climate Change Law, submitted third party interventions to the case. Hearings were held in March 2023. 

On April 9, 2024, the European Court found a violation of the right to respect for private and family life (Article 8) and access to court (Article 6 § 1). The Court found that Article 8 of the Convention encompasses a right to effective protection by the State authorities from the serious adverse effects of climate change on lives, health, well-being and quality of life. The Court found that Switzerland failed to comply with its positive obligations under the Convention concerning climate change, with critical gaps in establishing a relevant domestic regulatory framework, including through a carbon budget or national GHG emissions limitations. Switzerland had also failed to meet its past GHG emission reduction targets.

While recognizing that national authorities enjoy wide discretion concerning the implementation of legislation and measures, the Court held that the Swiss authorities had not acted in time and in an appropriate way to devise, develop, and implement relevant legislation and measures in this case. In addition, the Court found that Article 6 § 1 of the Convention applied to the applicant association’s complaint concerning effective implementation of the mitigation measures under existing domestic law.

On March 6, 2025, the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe decided that Switzerland is not yet complying with the requirements of the ECtHR judgment in the case of the KlimaSeniorinnen. Switzerland has yet to prove that it is doing enough to align its policy with a maximum global warming limit of 1.5°C.  Specifically, the CMDH  "invited also the authorities to further demonstrate that the methodology used to devise, develop and implement the relevant legislative and administrative framework responds to the Convention requirements as detailed by the Court and relies on a quantification, through a carbon budget or otherwise, of national greenhouse gas emissions limitations."

In a further decision on September 17, 2025, the Committee of Ministers welcomed “the adoption by Switzerland, following the Court's judgment, of a comprehensive legislative and regulatory framework at federal level setting out the goals, targets and timetable for achieving net-zero emissions by 2050, accompanied by a range of relevant measures at cantonal level” and noted “that Switzerland, by a method of its choice, has quantified the future greenhouse gas emissions corresponding to the general measures and the target timeline put in place”. It also “invited Switzerland to consider the opportunity of establishing an independent national body suited to the national political structure to monitor its climate policy”. It decided to resume the examination in 2026.

Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland

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Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland - reply

Filed

International

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Justice is the ethical and political framework that addresses fairness, including issues of responsibility, rights, and structural inequity.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

A ban is a legal action that prevents the sale or supply of a product or service, or that recalls a product from the market. Examples are bans on SF6, greenwashing, fossil fuel advertisement or single-use plastics.

A target to reduce the prevalence of a greenhouse gas over a specific time frame

A commitment to balance GHG emissions with removal by a certain point in time, effectively reducing the net emissions to zero

Using laws and the legal system more broadly to protect vulnerable entities

Hot temperature extremes are daily maximum temperatures  that were exceeded on average once in a decade or once in 50 years, and includes heatwaves.

The release of heat-trapping gases, primarily from human activities such as burning fossil fuels, agriculture and industry.

A long-lived, colourless gas, chiefly emitted from fossil fuel combustion, deforestation and cement production.

Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

People whose health, both mental and physical, makes them more vulnerable to the effects of climate change

woman and genders outside of the gender binary

This sector involves activities to move goods and people, alongside the storage of products.

Activities of businesses and institutions that provide financial services and products to individuals and organisations.

Activities that involve the cultivation of crops and raising of livestock for food, fibre, and other products essential for human life and industry.

This sector provides medical services, manufactures medical equipment, and develops pharmaceuticals to maintain and improve health.

Slow onset events evolve gradually from incremental changes over many years or from increased frequency or intensity of recurring events. As defined in the Cancun Adaptation Framework (2010), slow onset events include risks and impacts from rising temperatures, desertification, biodiversity loss, land and forest degradation, glacial retreat, ocean acidification, sea level rise, and salinization.

Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland - reply

Target

Policy instrument

Risk

Impacted group

Just transition

Greenhouse gas

Economic sector