Conference session 4: Strategic litigation in practice

The report details five case studies on environmental litigation in Germany, Poland, the Netherlands, Austria, and Ireland. It examines the role of the Aarhus Convention and human rights in granting standing to NGOs and individuals, the impact of EU law on national forestry and air quality policies, and the obstacles facing environmental associations in accessing justice.

• In Germany, two landmark cases expanded access to justice for air quality enforcement: the Janecek Case, which granted natural persons the right to enforce the Air Quality Directive, and a case regarding the city of Darmstadt, which granted standing to environmental associations. These developments led to the adoption of approximately 30 new or improved Air Quality Plans.
• The Białowieża forest case in Poland demonstrated the effectiveness of combining EU legal action with civil society pressure. After the CJEU banned logging and imposed financial penalties, the Polish government eventually ended extensive logging following a high-profile conference highlighting non-compliance with the April 2018 ruling that the logging violated European law.
• The Urgenda case in the Netherlands established that insufficient government action against climate change violates the general duty of care and human rights (specifically the right to life and family under the ECHR). The Dutch Supreme Court used a 'common ground method' incorporating the Paris Agreement and IPCC science to set a minimum emission reduction target of 25-40% for 2020 compared to 1990.
• Austria faces significant gaps in implementing the Aarhus Convention, with the 2017 Protect judgement only partially succeeding in the areas of water and air pollution law. Obstacles include a legal system requiring legislative implementation of European laws, federal state complexities, and stricter NGO recognition criteria requiring at least 100 members since 2018.
• The 'Climate Case Ireland' brought by Friend of the Irish Environment against the 2017 national mitigation plan was unsuccessful in the Supreme Court of Ireland. The court did not grant standing to litigate rights-based aspects of the case and refused to recognize unenumerated constitutional rights to a healthy environment.

APA

ClientEarth (2020). Conference session 4: Strategic litigation in practice. https://www.clientearth.org/media/pe1hikgo/conference-session-4-summary.pdf

Chicago

ClientEarth. Conference session 4: Strategic litigation in practice. 2020. https://www.clientearth.org/media/pe1hikgo/conference-session-4-summary.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=ClientEarth |title=Conference session 4: Strategic litigation in practice |date=November 2020 |url=https://www.clientearth.org/media/pe1hikgo/conference-session-4-summary.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{clientearth2020conference, author = {{ClientEarth}}, title = {{Conference session 4: Strategic litigation in practice}}, institution = {ClientEarth}, year = {2020}, month = nov, url = {https://www.clientearth.org/media/pe1hikgo/conference-session-4-summary.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }