The constitutional dimension of climate change in the judgment of the German Constitutional Court of March 24, 2021

Authors

  • Giacomo Palombino

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18042/cepc/redc.131.10

Abstract

The judgment of the German Constitutional Court of 24 March 2021 can be considered a historic decision. The Karlsruhe judges, indeed, have demonstrated not only that climate change constitutes a problem of constitutional law, but also that new paradigms for the protection of fundamental rights can be shaped by studying this phenomenon. Arguing the reasons that led to the declaration of unconstitutionality of the federal climate act, the Court explains how, in the face of the risks of
global warming, it is possible to resort to new conceptions of two factors that always characterize, albeit implicitly, legal reasoning: time and space. Having outlined the essential features of the international and European panorama in which the judgment is set, the paper aims to analyse the salient points of this historic decision; in the conviction, among other things, that it will favour (in fact, it is already favouring) an evolution in the configuration of a model of climate justice.

Published

2024-08-07

Issue

Section

JURISPRUDENCE. CRITICAL STUDIES