Climate Litigation as a Challenge for Constitutional Courts: A German Perspective

A talk by Prof. Dr. Stephan Harbarth, President and Presiding Justice of the First Senate, Federal Constitutional Court of Germany

Constitutional courts are increasingly involved in climate-related litigation initiated by private parties against the state or state authorities. In climate litigation, cases can be reviewed from two different fundamental rights perspectives: the defensive rights of citizens against the state or the state’s affirmative duties of protection. The lecture will present the approach taken by the Bundesverfassungsgericht (Federal Constitutional Court) in its Climate Change decision while discussing the doctrinal challenges that constitutional courts face when adjudicating climate cases.

Prof. Dr. Harbarth, LL.M. (Yale), has served as presiding Justice of the First Senate of the Federal Constitutional Court since November 2018 and was appointed President of the Court in June 2020. Following his law studies, he obtained his doctorate (Dr. jur.) from Heidelberg University in 1998. From 1997 to 1999, he completed his legal traineeship in Berlin. He obtained a Master of Laws from Yale Law School in 2000. For many years, he practiced as a lawyer and was a member of the German Bundestag. He is an honorary professor at Heidelberg University.

Lunch will be served.