The Duarte Case before the European Court of Human Rights: Some Observations on the Notion of Jurisdiction

On 9 April 2024, the European Court of Human Rights handed down its first three decisions on climate change. This article focuses on the decision in Duarte Agostinho and Others v. Portugal and Others, and in particular on the notion of jurisdiction adopted by the Court in this case. Indeed, the Duarte case is the first diagonal action to be examined by the Court, i.e. a case brought by individuals (in this case six young Portuguese children) against States other than their own. In particular, the author aims to analyse why the admissibility decision is disappointing, although not unexpected.