AbstractsLaw & Legal Studies

Arguing the case for a new legal environmental order: a democratic and cosmopolitan approach

by Inés Moreno Martin-Pozuelo




Institution: University of Iceland
Department:
Year: 2015
Keywords: Lögfræði
Record ID: 1221860
Full text PDF: http://hdl.handle.net/1946/20819


Abstract

The present analysis discusses with a prospective aim the implications of the international political and legal system for the environment. The profound social and political change taking place the world over has rendered the current system obsolete. That, in conjunction with the imminence of environmental peril, has determined the need for a thorough overhaul. The study focuses on the environment as one of the components of a complex web of global challenges. The main objective is to propose an alternative system able to provide efficient solutions to the problem. Although protecting the environment may appear to be of secondary importance in a world afflicted by war and genocide, furtherance of a global approach to environmental conservation would produce more efficient tools to address such challenges. By way of illustration of this approach, environmental rights may be said to pave the way for reinterpreting and broadening the scope of human rights. The role of the environment in the reinterpretation of “traditional” law and structures is discussed in depth in this thesis, which also questions the future role of both states and individuals in the new paradigm. A number of case studies are described to test the effectiveness of the measures proposed here. The originality of this research lies in its view of the environment, which is positioned in the context of other global challenges. Highlighting the importance of the environment for society is imperative to charting a new course for humanity. Key words: environmental protection, sustainability, participative democracy, global democracy, multilevel governance, democratic management, cosmopolitanism, environmental rights.