Guest editorial: Courts as an arena for societal change: An appraisal in the age of “environmental democracy”; In this issue

• Published date: 01 May 2023
• Author: Asmaa Khadim,Margaretha Wewerinke‐Singh,Jannemieke Ouwerkerk,Miranda Boone
• Date: 01 May 2023
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/eulj.12495

EDITORIAL

Guest editorial: Courts as an arena for societal

change: An appraisal in the age of “environmental

democracy”; In this issue

Asmaa Khadim

*

| Margaretha Wewerinke-Singh

†

|

Jannemieke Ouwerkerk

*

| Miranda Boone

*

1|COURTS AS AN ARENA FOR SOCIETAL CHANGE: AN APPRAISAL IN

THE AGE OF “ENVIRONMENTAL DEMOCRACY”

The impacts of environmental challenges, including climate change, are increasingly felt by individuals across the

globe. Amidst the critical and, some argue, urgent nature of these challenges, and the perceived sluggishness of

the executive and legislative branches of government in addressing them, citizens and civil society movements are

increasingly seeking redress through judicial avenues. This trend shines a new light on fundamental questions about

the role of law in society and the interplay between the political and the legal. It particularly challenges traditional

notions of the judiciary's role, begging important questions: What motivates citizens to bring socially charged issues

before the courts, and how do institutional frameworks influence the adjudication of such issues? What roles do gov-

ernments, parliaments, courts and civil society play in these processes? What leads courts to render substantive deci-

sions on these issues, or why do they refrain from doing so? What complexities arise when judges make decisions in

such politically charged contexts? How can concerns about judicial independence and impartiality be balanced with

evolving public expectations around the role of the courts? And what consequences does this shifting role have for

the judiciary's self-image and its perceived legitimacy?

Environmental and climate change law presents a particularly fertile terrain to explore these questions. The con-

cept of “environmental democracy”, as discussed by Angelika Krężel in this issue in relation to strategic climate litiga-

tion in the European Union,

1

brings to the fore interesting questions pertaining to the justification for the role of

courts and their legitimacy in addressing pressing societal issues. A countermajoritarian logic has traditionally

supported the role of courts from a balance of power perspective, where court action is deemed necessary to

amplify the voices of minorities or the vulnerable. This perspective also views judicial intervention as a way

to enforce the rule of law by preventing asymmetries of power in society - be they economic or political - from hav-

ing a detrimental impact on the way legal rules are interpreted and applied, as Giorgio Cataldo's essay examining key

Italian constitutional court decisions in light of the European Court of Justice's case law illustrates. Courts in that

* Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.

†

University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.

1

A. Krężel, ‘Access to Justice and Strategic Climate Litigation in the EU: Curing the Incurable?’,Special issue on Courts as an Arena for Societal Change: An

Appraisal in the Age of “Environmental Democracy”, (2023) 28(3–6) European Law Journal.

Received: 18 March 2024 Accepted: 20 March 2024

DOI: 10.1111/eulj.12495

This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits use, distribution and

reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

© 2024 The Authors. European Law Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

258 Eur Law J. 2023;29:258–264.

wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/eulj