Children's Access to Justice for Environmental Rights | Germany

This report looks at whether the laws and policies in Germany make it possible for children to access their environmental rights. 

The German Constitution (Grundgesetz - “GG”) does not explicitly recognise an independent “right to a healthy and clean environment”. Nevertheless, Article 20 serves to provide constitutional protection for the environment, climate and for present and future generations. 

Various civil, criminal and administrative laws have been used to tackle the climate crisis in the national courts. Germany’s Climate Change Law, Unfair Competition Law and Consumer Protection Law and the Supply Chain Due Diligence Act are being used to target corporations (and others) in the defence of environmental matters and to tackle greenwashing in the retail sector. The Constitution and its corresponding obligations have also been used to test the limits of Germany’s environmental law. For example, in Neubauer et al. v. Germany, the plaintiffs (mainly children and young people) alleged that Germany’s Federal Climate Protection Act (“Bundesklimaschutzgesetz” or “KSG”) violated their constitutional fundamental rights as it failed to set an adequately ambitious 2030 reduction target and lay out sufficient plans to keep greenhouse gas emissions low. The German Constitutional Court found in their favour, centering much of its ruling on the unduly burdens that young and future generations would bear under the emission reduction scheme established by the KSG which it declared unconstitutional. 

Article 2(2)(1) of GG protects the physical integrity of children. A federal study conducted by the German Ministry of Environment and the Robert Koch Institute found plastic byproducts in 97% of blood and urine samples from 2,500 children tested between 2014 and 2017. Nevertheless, no specific national policy addressing childhood exposure to toxic substances exists in Germany.

Children are not entitled to take legal actions by themselves. A person under the age of seven is considered not legally capable to take any legal actions. Those over the age of seven are granted limited legal capability, meaning they are entitled to take legal actions subject to parent approval. In administrative or civil proceedings, children would need to be represented by an adult, usually their parents.

Rights to peaceful assembly, expression, association and information are all protected by the GG. Whilst children are subjects of all fundamental rights under the GG, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (“CRC”) is unconditionally ranked on the same level as German federal law, children’s rights are not explicitly incorporated into the GG. The German Federal Government introduced legislation to explicitly incorporate children’s rights into the GG. However, this law has not yet passed. The law, if passed, would seek to extend Article 6(2) GG to clearly state that: “The Constitutional Rights of children, including their right to develop as responsible individuals, must be respected and protected. Children’s best interests must be taken into account in an appropriate manner. The Constitutional entitlement of children to a fair hearing in front of the law must be ensured. The primary responsibility of parents shall remain unaffected.”

This report was published in August 2023 and developed with the support of Philipp Schönberger from Green Legal Impact Germany, as well as finalised based on any feedback from the State. To learn more read the full report below, and please get in touch if this information was useful and you want to talk more.