Law
This note discusses the concept of law.
In most situations, law is simply human will written down.
Key Challenges
How can the law express the needs and protect capabilities of nonhuman stakeholders?
Definitions
A distinction of Jure (jurisprudence) vs Lex (law). Jure is the theory of law, Lex is the law in practice.
'Nature' vs human laws
"A key difference between the laws of nature and human laws seems to be that the former are descriptive (giving information about something in the natural world) while the latter are normative (prescribing a standard of behavior for humans). However, as we explore the surprising parallels between how these laws have been conceptualized in science and in jurisprudence, we shall see that this clear-cut distinction must also be modified. On the one hand, a descriptive element occurs in the practice of jurists abstracting the relevant laws from a specific network of social relationships. On the other hand, recent discoveries in science, especially in ecology and climate science, suggest strongly that the ecological principles evolved by ecosystems over billions of years to sustain the web of life must be understood as normative laws for human conduct if we are to overcome our global environmental crisis."
Capra, Fritjof, and Ugo Mattei. The Ecology of Law: Toward a Legal System in Tune with Nature and Community. Oakland: Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2015.
References
Earth System Law
Cf. Earth
Kotzé, Louis J., Rakhyun E. Kim, Catherine Blanchard, Joshua C. Gellers, Cameron Holley, Marie Petersmann, Harro van Asselt, Frank Biermann, and Margot Hurlbert. “Earth System Law: Exploring New Frontiers in Legal Science.” Earth System Governance 11 (2022): 100126. https://doi.org/10/gtztgj.
Petersmann, Marie-Catherine. “Sympoietic Thinking and Earth System Law: The Earth, Its Subjects and the Law.” Earth System Governance 9 (2021): 100114. https://doi.org/10/gmvh58.
Ocean System Law and Governance
Bender, Michelle, Rachel Bustamante, and Kelsey Leonard. “Living in Relationship with the Ocean to Transform Governance in the Un Ocean Decade.” PLOS Biology 20, no. 10 (2022): e3001828. https://doi.org/10/grq9mx.
Bakker, Karen. “Smart Oceans: Artificial Intelligence and Marine Protected Area Governance.” Earth System Governance 13 (2022): 100141. https://doi.org/10/gtw4cp.
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