http://dx.doi.org/10.59704/c7db695de259138a https://verfassungsblog.de/the-bmw-and-mercedes-climate-cases/ The BMW and Mercedes Climate Cases - Judicial Restraint at the Bundesgerichtshof? de Jong, Elbert Reiff, Marvin eng 2026-05-08 electronic resource text/html ddc:342 BGH Climate Crisis climate litigation Neubauer private law Tort Verfassungsblog Verfassungsblog--2366-7044 CC BY-SA 4.0 The Bundesgerichtshof – Germany's highest court of civil jurisdiction – has handed down its first ruling on private climate liability and dismissed the widely discussed lawsuits against BMW and Mercedes. These strategic lawsuits were based on a very specific claim that is hard to replicate in other legal systems. Nevertheless, the rulings contain general considerations that, from a comparative law perspective, reveal a remarkable degree of judicial restraint.