인권기반 기후소송의 시사점과 과제 ― KlimaSeniorinnen v. Switzerland 판례를 중심으로 ―

This article analyzes the implications and challenges of human rights-based climate litigation, focusing on the KlimaSeniorinnen v. Switzerland judgment of the European Court of Human Rights. The Court, for the first time among international or regional judicial bodies, issued a legally binding decision, holding that the Swiss government violated human rights by failing to take sufficient mitigation and preventive measures against climate change. This ruling carries significant implications for the development of international human rights law and international environmental law. The binding judgment has clearly affirmed the existence of States’ obligation to protect the enjoyment of human rights from the adverse effects of climate change that had previously been discussed mainly in reports and resolutions. Moreover, it has effectively turned the soft-law commitment under the Paris Agreement, which is to pursue domestic mitigation measures to achieve the objectives of nationally determined contributions, into a hard law obligation. However, unresolved issues – such as transboundary human rights violations and extraterritorial obligations of States, and compensation for human rights infringements – remain key challenges for future human rights-based climate litigation. These issues should be gradually addressed and clarified through the accumulation of case law.