LEGAL STANDING AND VICTIM STATUS OF INDIVIDUALS AND ASSOCIATIONS AFTER THE ‘KLIMASENIORINNEN’ CASE

In its judgment Verein KlimaSeniorinnen Schweiz and Others, the ECtHR created a positive obligation for Contracting States under Article 8 ECHR to protect individuals from the serious adverse effects of climate change. In order to prevent universal public access to the ECtHR (actio popularis), which has only a subsidiary role in the protection of fundamental rights, the Court developed new criteria for the legal standing and the victim status of applicants, and came to a peculiar conclusion: while associations are generally granted legal standing and can act before the ECtHR, their individual members are largely denied the victim status and, therefore, cannot bring an application before the Court (Article 34 ECHR). In this article, the author will critically analyse the criteria and findings of the Court on legal standing and victim status in light of the Convention and the settled case law.