Climate Change Litigation: Essen District Court Dismisses Action Brought By Peruvian Farmer

We reported on what appears to be the first major piece of Climate Change litigation in Germany, an action by Peruvian farmer Saul LLiuya against German energy company RWE. To briefly recap:

Saul LLiuya owns property in the city of Huaraz in the Ancash region of Peru. It is located at the foot of the Andes below the Laguna Palcacocha, a natural moraine-dammed lake beneath the Palcaraju glacier. LLiuya alledges that, as a result of the melting of the glacier, the water volume of that lake has increased to a dangerous level. He believes that this has been caused by by global greenhouse gas emissions. For these, he considered RWE be jointly responsible because, according to his estimate, it is causing 0.47% of the world-wide greenhouse gas emissions. Accordingly, RWE should be held responsible for any actual and future costs incurred by him to safeguard his property against floods and mudslides. Continue reading

Munich Court of Appeals: Berne Museum of Fine Arts Confirmed as Gurlitt’s Heir

 

olg-munchenIn November 2013, the Munich Art Find made headlines world wide, when a newsmagazine broke the story about the seizure of an art collection in the apartment of Cornelius Gurlitt, the son of Hildebrand Gurlitt, a privileged art dealer in the Nazi period. With the help of some guest authors, we have covered the story and some of its legal implications quite extensively on this blog.* Things have been quiet recently, but today, the Court of Appeal (Oberlandesgericht) Munich announced its decision in the dispute about Cornelius Gurlitt’s last will, under which the Gurlitt art collection was bequeathed upon the Berne Museum of Fine Arts (Kunstmuseum Bern). Continue reading

Porsche/Volkswagen Litigation: Moving Slowly, One Step At A Time…

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We have not really covered the Porsche/Volkswagen saga for quite a long time – see here and here for posts on the jurisdictional journey of this litigation all across the country. Primarily, this was because not a lot has happened: Back in April 2014, the District Court (Landgericht) Hannover had published its order commencing a model proceeding (Musterverfahren) to be heard by the Court of Appeals (Oberlandesgericht) Celle (the order is available via the electronic register for model proceedings operated by the Federal Gazette at www.bundesanzeiger.de). Continue reading

Human Rights Day – Stand Up For Someone’s Rights

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Next week is Human Rights Day. It is observed every year on  December 10. It commemorates the day on which, in 1948, the United Nations General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Continue reading