ATS
The opinion of the International Court of Justice (CIJ) of The Hague on Climate Change could have consequences for Switzerland, according to international law specialist Helen Keller. With the Paris agreement, the country has signed a binding treaty.
The CIJ’s legal opinion, made public on Wednesday, will have an impact in many national legal systems, said Ms. Keller, professor of public international law at the University of Zurich and former judge at the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, at the Keystone-ATS press agency.
According to the CIJ, States must also reconsider their subsidies to the Emitting CO2 industries. This could also be important in Switzerland in legal proceedings.
The Court also retains that, from a point of view of human law, the principle of non-refoulement is also applicable in the climate context. A person whose life or physical integrity is threatened in his country cannot therefore be sent back.
