I kid about the lack of attorneys in Switzerland, they're everywhere. Just not the kind who can do the "Emperor has no Clothes" argument at the Court. Izabella Kaminska thought this was important enough to tweet:
A shock ruling from the ECHR this week has determined that being protected from climate change by your government is a human right. "The court effectively concluded that humans have a right to safety from climate catastrophes — a move which immediately established a potent…
— Izabella Kaminska (@izakaminska) April 11, 2024
The Swiss Pensioner's case was built on two articles of the European Convention on Human Rights, Articles II and VIII:
ARTICLE 8
Right to respect for private and family life
1. Everyone has the right to respect for his private and family life, his home and his correspondence.
2. There shall be no interference by a public authority with the exercise of this right except such as is in accordance with the law and is necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, public safety or the economic well-being of the country, for the prevention of disorder or crime, for the protection of health or morals, or for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others.
Not seeing anything on climate there, let's try the other one:
Article 2 of the Convention
“1. Everyone’s right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law.
2. Deprivation of life shall not be regarded as inflicted in contravention of this article when it results from the use of force which is no more than absolutely necessary:
(a) in defence of any person from unlawful violence;
(b) in order to effect a lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained;
(c) in action lawfully taken for the purpose of quelling a riot or insurrection.
Not seeing it there either.
Here's the 56 page Guide on Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights from the European Court of Human Rights if you want to tease out the meaning of Article 2.
In the meantime I'm going to be looking for the guides on the Ten Suggestions (no, not the “You shall not covet your neighbor’s house. You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife, or his male or female servant, his ox or donkey, or anything that belongs to your neighbor.” bit - they are clear enough to not require 56 page guides) but rather Chairman Ben Bernanke's 2013 speech "The Ten Suggestions".
Here's the Politico.eu story that Ms Kaminska linked to:
How a group of elderly Swiss women could take the UK out of the European Court
