Thema: Klima & Umwelt

Umweltverfassungsrecht, verfassungsrechtliche Aspekte der Klimagovernance, Umweltrechte als Verfassungsrechte und verfassungsrechtliche Regulierung der Umweltpolitik. Umfasst verfassungsrechtlichen Umweltschutz, Klimarechte und verfassungsrechtliche Aspekte der Nachhaltigkeit.

A Nod, Not a Leap

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This post focuses on one notable aspect of AO-32/25 that has not received attention in other commentary–the IACtHR’s engagement with gender issues. We find that the IACtHR has taken an important step forward, both in recognizing gender as a key determinant of climate vulnerability and in identifying gender-responsive obligations on States. However, the IACtHR’s comments in this regard remain general and often gestural. The obligations identified are limited, narrow, and many relate to data gathering rather than substantial action.

17. Juli 2025

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Jus Cogens and the Climate Crisis

While there are many aspects of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR)’s Advisory Opinion 32/25 (AO-32/25) that are new and groundbreaking, the inclusion of a reflection on jus cogens might have surprised some observers. The legal consequences of the recognition as jus cogens of the obligation not to create irreversible damage to the climate and the global environment are profound. Treaties violating the norm are void, customary international law rules cannot exist, nor does the persistent objector rule apply.

16. Juli 2025

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The Right to a Healthy Environment as a Catalyst for Urgent and Ambitious Climate Action at the IACtHR

The right to a healthy environment is at the heart of the landmark Advisory Opinion 32/25 (AO-32/25) on the climate emergency from the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR). AO-32/25 marks the clearest ruling to date from an international court on the urgency of transformative changes to address the existential threat of the planetary environmental emergency caused by human activities.

15. Juli 2025

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A Differentiated Path Forward

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The Inter-American Court of Human Rights’ (IACtHR) Advisory Opinion OC-32/25 on the “Climate Emergency and Human Rights” represents a transformative moment in international legal doctrine on climate-induced displacement and shows why the IACtHR’s conclusions constitute not merely an incremental development, but a fundamental reorientation of the human rights law approach to one of the most pressing challenges of our time.

10. Juli 2025

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A Blueprint for Rights-Based Climate Action

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On July 3, 2025, the Inter-American Court of Human Rights (IACtHR) issued Advisory Opinion No. 32—the most important and progressive document yet released by an international court on the climate crisis. The IACtHR’s findings are as comprehensive as they are groundbreaking, spanning areas from procedural requirements for mitigation measures to the protection of environmental defenders. This post launches a blog symposium on the advisory opinion and discusses ten key takeaways, chosen to illustrate the opinion’s legal and practical significance.

9. Juli 2025

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Defining Climate Justice in the African Human Rights System

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On 2 May 2025, the Pan African Lawyers Union – in collaboration with the African Climate Platform, the Environmental Lawyers Collective for Africa, Natural Justice, and resilient40 – submitted a request to the African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights for an advisory opinion on States’ obligations in relation to climate change. As the climate crisis intensifies across the continent, exacerbating inequality, displacing communities, and threatening ecological systems, the need for principled, coherent, and rights-based legal guidance has never been greater. In addressing this request, the Court has the chance not only to align with emerging global jurisprudence but to contribute a distinctly African vision of climate justice.

2. Juli 2025

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Animal Law Jurisprudence in the EU and Beyond

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Animals have largely been left out in EU law scholarship and environmental law studies. The role of the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights has not been discussed to any greater extent. In this symposium, we discuss the pros and cons of the EU Charter for securing sufficient animal protection in the Member States. More specifically, the contributions in this symposium explore a number of questions such as that of the legal standing of animals and animal rights in the context of the EU, and reflecting on the relationship between animal rights and the EU.

30. Juni 2025

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Kein Problem des Zivilrechts

139 Seiten Gerichtsurteil, ein peruanischer David gegen einen Goliath der deutschen Energiewirtschaft und eine Gletscherkatastrophe. Das hätte zur juristischen Großerzählung an einer schwierigen Schnittstelle zwischen Privat- und Verwaltungsrecht getaugt. Man hätte das Eigentumsrecht in einer globalisierten Welt vermessen und hinterfragen können, ob das BGB so einem Fall gerecht werden kann. Aber das Oberlandesgericht Hamm will in seinem Klimaurteil vom 28. Mai 2025 in die Beweiswürdigung und löst den Fall, als spiele er in Wanne-Eickel: Gutachten, kein Beweis für die Gefahr, Klage abgewiesen.

12. Juni 2025

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Eine Lagune im Gerichtssaal?

Die Debatte über Rechte der Natur hat auch in Deutschland an Fahrt gewonnen – nur die Strafrechtswissenschaft hat sie noch nicht erreicht. Dabei wäre eine solche Auseinandersetzung auch aus praktischen Gründen erforderlich: Nachdem Spanien im November 2022 das Ley 19/2022 verabschiedet hatte, wird sich in laufenden Strafverfahren nun erstmals entscheiden, ob das Rechtssubjekt Mar Menor vor Gericht auftreten kann. In diesem Beitrag entfalte ich die These, dass die Lagune über eine „acusación particular“ zur strafprozessualen Beteiligten werden kann: vertreten, aber in eigenem Namen.

4. Juni 2025

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Success Without Victory

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One of the most striking climate cases has come to a striking end. The Higher Regional Court of Hamm dismissed the lawsuit against RWE on minor factual grounds – yet at the same time confirmed that major emitters can, in principle, be held liable under German private law for climate-related harms. The ruling may ultimately represent a success without victory: A short-term loss for the plaintiff, but one that provides important insights and strategic lessons for future climate liability cases.

1. Juni 2025

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