Notes on so-called "climate litigation" in Germany: The Lliuya V. Rwe Case

Abstract

The widespread and increasingly developed climate change law has also led to an increase in of litigation in the judicial, administrative, arbitration sphere, both in terms of the domestic law of States, and in the scope of public and private international law. In this sense, the analysis of concrete cases, in the light of judicial and non-judicial precedents, is fundamental, as it is necessary for the development of both a theory and an effective practice of climate litigation. Among the countries that stand out most historically in terms of legislation, literature and jurisprudence in relation to the protection of the environment, unequivocally Germany occupies the top position. Several climate disputes and respective judicial decisions have deserved a close look from external observers with a view to their analysis from a comparative point of view. In the present essay, what is intended is to present and discuss is one of the climate litigation case that has gained the most notoriety, namely, the Lliuya v. RWE, the main object of the present study and which is sought to be presented and analyzed here, from the perspective of its relevance for good climate litigation. Furthermore, such an analysis will be carried out by inserting the precedent mentioned in the broader context of environmental law and environmental litigation in Germany.