Litigating for a just tomorrow. Promoting intergenerational climate justice through strategic climate litigation at the ECtHR

Abstract

The climate crisis is not only an ecological emergency, but also a profound human rights challenge characterised by deep intergenerational injustice. Today's children and future generations will bear the heaviest burden of inadequate climate action by current governments. In response, climate activism has increasingly shifted from the streets into courtrooms, with strategic climate litigation emerging as a powerful tool to promote climate justice and hold states accountable. This thesis explores how such litigation before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) promotes intergenerational climate justice. Drawing upon a literature review, one expert interview and legal doctrinal analysis grounded in Edith Brown Weiss's Intergenerational Equity Triad, this thesis analyses the landmark ECtHR cases Verein KlimaSeniorinnen v. Switzerland and Duarte Agostinho and Others v. Portugal and 32 Others (April 2024). The findings demonstrate that, while strategic litigation can establish positive obligations and broaden legal standing, its transformative potential is constrained by procedural barriers, declaratory judgments and weak enforcement mechanisms. Thus, the ECtHR's evolving jurisprudence reveals both the promise and constraints of law as a catalyst for intergenerational climate justice. This highlights the need for robust implementation, political will and continued activism - both on the streets and in the Court.