Swiss parliament snubs European court climate ruling.
After the Senate, the Swiss House of Representatives has criticised the climate ruling of the European Court of Human Rights.
The House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to reject a ruling ordering Switzerland to do more to combat global warming. In April, the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg issued an landmark judgement that said Bern had violated the human rights of a group of older Swiss women, the KlimaSeniorinnen, by failing to tackle climate change.
The non-binding motion passed by Switzerland’s lower house of parliament today said there was no reason to take further action because Switzerland was already doing enough. Parliamentarians criticised the court’s “interference” in Swiss democracy.
“It’s really disgraceful what just happened,” Stefanie Brander, 68, told the Reuters news agency after the vote. “It’s an insult and a lack of respect of our rights which were confirmed by an international court.”
Switzerland is legally obliged to implement the ruling under the terms of the European Convention on Human Rights it ratified in 1974. However, it is not unusual for countries to drag their feet.
In this specific case, the Federal Council must tell the Council of Europe, to which the court belongs, by October how it will implement the decision.
Meanwhile, over half of Swiss residents (56%) believeExternal link the Swiss authorities should not carry out any particular measures to implement the recent European Court of Human Rights climate decision against Switzerland, a Tamedia poll shows.