Swiss parliament rejects European climate ruling
After the Senate, the Swiss House of Representatives has criticised the climate ruling of the European Court of Human Rights.
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Like the Senate, it does not want any additional measures for climate protection. The House of Representatives adopted a corresponding declaration on Wednesday.
The declaration, similar to that of the Senate, is entitled “Effective protection of fundamental rights by international courts instead of judicial activism”.
+ Landmark ruling: Switzerland’s climate policy violates human rights
According to the main arguments of the declaration, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) had exceeded the limits of permissible legal development with its ruling and disregarded democratic decision-making processes. After a lively debate, the House of Representatives approved the declaration by 111 votes to 72 with ten abstentions.
At the beginning of April, following a complaint by the Climate Seniors Association, the Court found that Switzerland had violated the Convention on Human Rights. It had failed to fulfil its duties with regard to climate protection. The state must protect individuals from the consequences of climate change for life and health.
+ European court’s climate ruling ‘could be own goal’ for green ideas
Last week, the Council of States had already adopted an identical declaration with a narrow two-thirds majority. This was also on the recommendation of its Legal Affairs Committee (RK-S).
Translated from German by DeepL/ts
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