Rechter en politiek: Machtenscheiding in de Urgenda-zaak

In the Urgenda-case, the Netherlands Supreme Court (Hoge Raad) struck down a change in setting climate policy targets agreed upon in the political system, and based on a balancing of the fiscal, financial and monetary interests during the 2008-2012 crisis. By doing so, it has entered into the domain of politics that was previously guarded by a set of well-defined principles that express judicial deference to the legislature, and demarcated the separation of powers between courts and legislature. This article provides an overview of these principles as they were developed by the Hoge Raad itself and of their rationales. It shows how the judgment in the Urgenda-case shifted the boundaries of this separation of powers. This article also provides an alternative reading of this judgment in terms of only providing a weak remedy, but is skeptical of the Hoge Raad actually taking the road of weak review and dialogue between courts and legislature.
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