Chapitre 12. De l’état de nécessité à la désobéissance civile environnementale

“I don't want a child”: an apolitical argument in climate change trials in Switzerland

“…Although civil society representatives already called for civil disobedience in 2009 at the COP15 (see Michelot, 2019, p. 29; Rochefeld, 2019, p. 8), this turn in the repertoire of action, propelled by local branches of XR and FFF in 2018, marked a turning point in Switzerland (Demay and Loetscher, 2022). Indeed, political contestation in Switzerland was largely limited to the use of semi-direct democratic tools (referenda, initiatives, petitions and elections) and demonstrations (Guigni, 2019; Fritz et al , 2023).…”

“…Indeed, political contestation in Switzerland was largely limited to the use of semi-direct democratic tools (referenda, initiatives, petitions and elections) and demonstrations (Guigni, 2019; Fritz et al , 2023). Hence, since the end of 2018, Switzerland has faced an explosion of civil disobedience trials in climate litigation (Demay and Loetscher, 2022).…”

“…Furthermore, as Switzerland is a continental legal system without a constitutional court similar to France or Germany or without juries, its judicial authorities are considered to carry out an activity independent of any political activity. Finally, the positivist approach to law is hegemonic (Papaux, 1999; Demay and Loetscher, 2022). This doctrine is characterized by several features: a separation of the legal discipline from the study of morality or politics, a desire to separate the study of law from the context of its production, a conception of the legal system as a logical and closed system and an ambition to make axiological neutrality a guarantee of the validity of the law system (Troper, 1994, p. 27; Ost, 2016).…”