Judicial Activism At The Highest Level In Austria

Posted: 2/11/2017  Update: 2/12/2017

Update Of 2/12/2017

Here is the official press release issued by the highest administrative court in Austria. Indeed this court weighed in that the damage to the public good by climate change has precedence over other considerations. These justices also based their decision on the European Charter on human rights, which they claim provides for the overriding importance of environmental protection and the protection of climate (German “Klimaschutz”, latter term is an oxymoron).

Meanwhile, one of the leading Swiss newspapers, i.e. the Neue Zuercher Zeitung, also published a comment here about this case of judicial activism in Austria. The headline reads “Pistenverbot am Flughafen Wien/Richter sollten nicht Klimaschützer spielen” (roughly translated as judges ought not to play environmental activists). The Swiss commentator says among others things that the reasoning by these supreme justices is adventurous.

Original Or Revised Article

Not only the U.S. has serious problems with judges and justices at every level of the judiciary who follow their ideological preferences to make political decisions instead of following the law.

Just read Gericht verbietet dritte Startbahn wegen Klimaschutz Der Wiener Flughafen darf nicht ausgebaut werden. Ein Gericht untersagte den Bau einer dritten Landebahn, weil dadurch Treibhausgasemissionen ansteigen würden. Klimaschutz sei wichtiger als weitere Arbeitsplätze.

The highest administrative court in Austria (Bundesverwaltungsgericht) just denied the building of a third runway at the airport of Vienna on grounds of environmental concerns like exhaust emissions (carbon dioxide). The operator of the Vienna airport even made concessions to reduce air pollution etc. One of Austria’s most important industries is tourism.

Incredible!