Webinar: Earth Jurisprudence in practice: Conversations with Earth lawyers
The Centre for European and Comparative Legal Studies (CECS) and the Centre for International Law and Governance (CILG) at the Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen, Earth Advocacy Youth (YEA), and the student association Casus Clima are delighted to invite you to a webinar on Earth Jurisprudence in practice: Conversations with Earth lawyers.
Laws and policies recognising the personhood and rights of Nature are being developed in 35 countries across the globe, with several initiatives based in Europe (UN Harmony with Nature report 2020).[1] These laws typically recognise the rights of Nature to exist, thrive, evolve, regenerate their vital cycles, and play their role in the web of life on Earth. Ecuador was one of the first countries to make this legal move, recognizing the rights of Nature in its constitution in 2008. It remains the only country to have recognised such rights at a constitutional level.
The rights of Nature movement certainly seeks improvements in the protection of living beings and ecosystems. However, its work runs much deeper than that. In order to understand its richness and transformative potential, it is helpful to engage with the origins and theoretical inspiration for the movement. Crucial to that end is Earth Jurisprudence or Ecological Jurisprudence, the philosophy and practice of law that has inspired and oriented the rights of Nature movement. Earth Jurisprudence engages with fundamental questions about the law, rights and existence. Perhaps most importantly, it centres around the relationships that human beings have with each other as well as with the other beings with whom we share a home on Earth.
What does Earth Jurisprudence look like in practice and how might the rights of Nature help us to address the many collective challenges that we face? In this webinar, we shall hear from prominent Earth lawyers about their experiences of working within these new paradigms.
[1] UNGA ‘Harmony with Nature. Report of the Secretary-General’ (2020) UN Doc A/75/266.
Time (CEST) |
Activity |
Speaker |
| 13:30-13:40 | Welcome | Prof. Helle Krunke, Professor of Constitutional Law and Head of the Centre for European and Comparative Legal Studies (CECS), Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen |
| 13:40-14:20 |
“Neither natural nor positive: The journey towards an Ecological Jurisprudence” Talk and Q&A |
Dr. Alessandro Pelizzon, Senior Lecturer, School of Law and Justice, Southern Cross University |
| 14:20-14:25 | Short break | |
| 14:25-15:05 |
“Implementing the constitutional rights of Nature in Ecuador. Recent developments and recommendations to future Earth lawyers” Talk and Q&A |
Hugo Echeverría, environmental lawyer |
| 15:05-15:25 |
“A young professional’s perspective on Earth Advocacy” Talk and Q&A |
Hana Begovic, Julia Gilvad Rasmussen & Hercules Wessels, Earth Advocacy Youth |
| 15:25-15:30 | Thank you! |
Moderator: Katarina Hovden, PhD Fellow, CECS, Faculty of Law, University of Copenhagen
Dr. Alessandro Pelizzon is an academic in the School of Law and Justice at Southern Cross University, where he has also served in a number of management roles. Alessandro completed his LLB/LLM at the University of Turin in Italy, specializing in comparative law and legal anthropology with a field research project conducted in the Andes. His Doctoral research, conducted at the University of Wollongong, focused on native title and legal pluralism in the Illawarra region. Alessandro has been exploring the emerging discourse on rights of nature, Wild Law and Earth Jurisprudence since its inception, with a particular focus on the intersection between this emerging discourse and different legal ontologies. In addition to having published extensively in the area, he has organised numerous events in Australia on Wild Law and Earth Jurisprudence, he is one of the founding members of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature and of the Australian Earth Laws Alliance, and he has been a moderator at the UN General Assembly Dialogue on the Harmony with Nature. Alessandro is currently an Executive Committee Member of the Global Alliance for the Rights of Nature and an expert member of the UN Harmony with Nature programme. Alessandro’s main areas of research are legal anthropology, legal theory, comparative law, ecological jurisprudence, sovereignty, and Indigenous rights.
Hugo Echeverría is a practicing lawyer in Quito, Ecuador, with 19 years of professional experience in environmental law. He is a Doctor of Jurisprudence, granted by Pontificia Universidad Católica de Quito, Ecuador, and holds a Master of Laws (LL.M) from McGill University in Montreal, Canada. Besides his work as an attorney, Hugo holds academic and teaching positions in Ecuador. He is Professor of Constitutional Law and the Environment and Environmental crimes at Universidad San Francisco de Quito and Professor of Criminal Law at Universidad de los Hemisferios in Quito, Ecuador. Hugo’s academic and professional interests focus on comparative approaches to constitutional environmental rights; the role of the judicial system in advancing environmental law; and the emerging paradigm of Nature as a subject of rights. Hugo is a member of the IUCN’s World Commission on Environmental Law and the UN’s Harmony with Nature Knowledge Network.
Hana Begovic is a strategic and experienced organizer with the mission to contribute to tangible and positive impact for the well-being of the Earth system. She is the Director of Earth Advocacy Youth and a member of the United Nations Harmony with Nature Knowledge Network. She is also a Steering Committee member at Youth for our Planet, a youth movement calling for urgent action on the Nature and climate crises. She holds a degree in Global Studies, a program uniting peace and development research, global gender studies, human ecology, human rights studies, Latin American studies and social anthropology.
Julia Gilvad Rasmussen is a law student at the University of Copenhagen. She is specialising in International Environmental and Climate Law and has a passion for Earth Law and the Rights of Nature. She is one of the founding members of Earth Advocacy Youth.
Hercules Wessels Hercules Wessels is a qualified and practicing lawyer and an associate at specialist environmental law firm Cullinan & Associates, Cape Town, South Africa. He studied at Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa, where he obtained his BA(Law) and LLB degrees. He is also an active member of the Global Alliance for Rights of Nature and a founding member of Earth Advocacy