Erfurt Court Grants Eco Rights in Dieselgate
A German court’s 2024 ruling recognised nature’s rights in a consumer case over Volkswagen’s diesel fraud, marking a milestone for ecocentric law in Europe.
In August 2024, the Erfurt District Court (Landgericht) became the first German court to recognise the rights of nature in case 8 O 1373/21, a consumer claim that began as a complaint over Volkswagen’s diesel emissions fraud. Judge Dr Martin Borowsky delivered the decision.
Background of Dieselgate
The scandal erupted in 2015 when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency revealed that the Volkswagen Group had installed hidden “defeat devices” in millions of diesel vehicles. The software lowered nitrogen-oxide (NOx) emissions during laboratory tests, but on the road the cars emitted up to 40 times the legal limit. The company admitted that 11 million cars worldwide - 8 million in Europe - were fitted with the device. The Court of Justice of the European Union later ruled in Case C-100/21 that such devices are illegal and that affected consumers are entitled to compensation.
| Metric | Worldwide | Europe | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cars fitted with defeat device | 11 million | 8 million | |
| NOx emission multiplier on road | 40 |
The case that led to the Erfurt ruling began with a single customer who sought compensation for unknowingly buying a car with the illegal software.
Rights of Nature Explained
Rights of Nature is an ecocentric legal approach that seeks to give nature itself legal standing, allowing its interests to be considered alongside human ones. The primary motivation, however, is human health and survival, as environmental degradation directly threatens both.
Judicial Reasoning
Judge Borowsky read the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union as a living instrument that can adapt to contemporary threats. He interpreted Articles 2, 3(1) and 37 to extend protections beyond humans to “ecological persons.” The court’s decision was not based on a claim for nature’s rights, but the judge used the Charter’s wording - which refers to “everyone” or “every person” - to argue that the rights can encompass more than just humans.
The reasoning also linked the recognition of nature’s rights to Article 1, which guarantees human dignity, and to the preamble that stresses responsibilities to fellow humans, the community and future generations. Ensuring a sustainable environment is therefore seen as essential to protecting human dignity now and in the future.
Broader Implications
The court awarded the car buyer €6,670 in compensation. While Volkswagen has paid billions in fines and settlements, the climate, air-pollution and health impacts of the fraud cannot be fully compensated. The ruling demonstrates how judicial creativity can move legal culture toward ecocentric principles.
The decision cites Spain’s Mar Menor lagoon, which has been granted legal personhood, as well as examples from the Global South, the United States and New Zealand. Article 53 of the Charter requires comparative law to be considered, and the court used these cases to support its reasoning.
The Erfurt judgment is the first European ruling to affirm that nature can be a subject with its own rights, a stance that may influence future stats on environmental damages and affect how we view the squad of ecological entities.
The case also highlights that environmental crimes have long-lasting effects and that our legal systems are often ill-equipped to address such damage. The ruling may steer future EU law toward a framework that better accounts for the systemic impacts of environmental violations.
The publication of this report is funded by the Federal Environment Agency and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Climate Action, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, with funds made available by resolution of the German Bundestag. The EEB is responsible for the content of this publication.
