Consistent Inconsistencies in the ECtHR’s Approach to Victim Status and Locus Standi

• Published in: European Journal of Risk Regulation
• Main Author: Violetta Sefkow-Werner
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cambridge University Press 2025-06-01
• Subjects: actio popularis; climate change; European Court of Human Rights; human rights; standing; victim status
• Online Access: https://www.cambridge.org/core/product/identifier/S1867299X24000953/type/journal_article
• ISSN: 1867-299X; 2190-8249

The ECtHR’s landmark judgment in the case Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others v. Switzerland contains novel findings on procedural and substantive aspects of human rights protection in the climate change context. To reconcile effective protection of Convention rights with the exclusion of actiones populares, the Court set a high threshold for the individual applicants’ victim status while applying mostly formal criteria to the locus standi of the applicant association. On this count, only the association’s application was admissible. On the merits, the Court found violations of Articles 8 and 6(1) ECHR because Switzerland failed to comply with its positive obligation to protect individuals from the adverse effects of climate change and its courts did not engage seriously with the applicant association’s action. This case note takes a closer look at the ECtHR’s interpretation of standing for individuals and associations and discusses its (non-)alignment with previous case law. In particular, it reflects on the Court’s implicit understanding of the concept of victim in KlimaSeniorinnen and explores whether allowing representative standing is justified based on the Court’s existing case law. The case note concludes with an outlook on the enforcement of collective human rights issues through associations.