The EU’s attitude towards the ECHR’s system in light of the EU’s climate ambition

Abstract

Despite several attempts to access the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), the EU is still not a Party to the Convention. However, this does not mean there is no interaction between the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) and the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). This article will analyse this interaction in cases related to environmental issues, primarily from the EU’s perspective. This objective includes the examination of the Bosphorus Hava Yolları Turizm ve Ticaret Anonim Şirketi v. Ireland case where the so-called ‘Bosphorus criteria’ was declared according to which the EU law should provide the same level of protection of human rights as the ECHR in environmental protection. Furthermore, the article considers the EU’s ambitious climate goals and commitment to the Paris Agreement, the Carvalho and Others v. European Union case and the third-party intervention of the European Commission in the Duarte Agostinho and Others v. Portugal and Others case before the ECtHR.