Climate case brought by 6 Portuguese children against 33 States goes to the Grand Chamber of the European Court of Human Rights

Joshua Jackson

The Fourth Section of the ECtHR relinquishes jurisdiction to the Grand Chamber in Duarte Agostinho & Others v Portugal & Others (App no. 39371/20)

The young people are from areas in Portugal badly affected by forest fires, heatwaves and other extreme weather conditions. They argue the Respondent States have violated their rights to life, freedom from inhuman and degrading treatment, and private life on the grounds they have failed to regulate their emissions in a manner consistent with keeping global warming to 1.5℃.

In a major development, the Fourth Section of the ECtHR has relinquished jurisdiction to the 17-judge Grand Chamber owing to serious questions the case has raised regarding the interpretation of the European Convention on Human Rights.

The case joins Verein Klimaseniorennen Schweiz and Others v Switzerland and Careme v France as the third climate case sitting before the Grand Chamber.

Josh Jackson is instructed as part of the counsel team by the Global Legal Action Network, led by Gerry Liston.

The ECtHR’s press release can be found here: https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/eng-press?i=003-7374717-10079435

Reported by the Associated Press: https://apnews.com/article/climate-middle-east-european-union-and-environment-8bbffa36687bad0329661492b029a13b