In 2017, the Whanganui River in New Zealand gained legal personality, a potentially norm-breaking legislation that could challenge society to view nature differently. It is thus important to understand the reasons and justifications behind such a decision. This is an explorative case study that aims to examine the interplay between different philosophies on legal rights of nature and minority rights within the context of a political discourse by investigating how the implementation of the Te Awa Tupua Bill in 2017 in New Zealand was justified. The arguments were identified in the three parliamentary readings of the bill through argument analysis and analyzed through ideational critique. The Te Awa Tupua Bill was justified through anthropocentric, animistic and ecocentric arguments. A majority of the arguments related to protecting the indigenous Māori culture. Further, the results from the ideational critique suggests that the argumentation at times was rather weak and that many arguments were not fully developed. This study shows how the practical political debate on legal rights of nature relates to the theoretical one. It also provides insights on how big part protecting minority rights play when implementing legal personality for natural objects. This study contributes to an emerging field of research with many open doors for future studies.

This work examines a relational ontology with the focus on our relationships with the more-than-human world. The aim is to investigate a subject that is more suitable to face the challenges of our times. Inspired by the posthumanistic project as presented by Rosi Braidotti I propose a non-anthropocentric reading of Martin Buber’s I and Thou. In the first section of the essay I present an overview of Buber’s understanding of the subject and I also answer the question whether we can consider the I-Thou relationship to include the non-human world. In part two I investigate the characteristics of such a relationship, covering as well the act of dialogue. This opens up for a new understanding of the subject as constituted by relationships including non-human others. As an example of how to protect living I-Thou relationships with non-human others through the I-It logic of law I present the case study of the river Wanganui in New Zealand and its newly acquired status as a subject by law. Finally I conclude by discussing a possible ethic where relational capacities are key.

Ecological law is a legal paradigm that is emerging in response to the current ecological crisis. This thesis explores the main challenges and opportunities in existing laws, particularly in the context of mining, for a shift to this new paradigm. A synthesis of the main critiques, scientific and economic concepts, legal scholarship and proposals that contribute to the theory of ecological law is presented, along with a discussion of the relationship and potential synergies of ecological law with Indigenous legal traditions and with Green Legal Theory. An analytical tool to help improve the understanding of what a shift to ecological law would entail–a lens of ecological law–is proposed, building on ecological law scholarship. The lens of ecological law consists of three principles of ecological law: ecocentrism, ecological primacy and ecological justice. This lens is applied to three different legal approaches to mining in order to reflect on the implications for a shift to ecological law in this sector: El Salvador’s ban on metal mining; mineral extraction proposed in Ontario’s Ring of Fire; and mining in the context of the rights of Mother Earth and vivir bien recognized in Bolivian law. Conclusions on the obstacles and opportunities for a shift to ecological law in mining, and recommendations on the ecological law re-formation of mining and on further research are offered in closing. Ecological law promises to be an important part of building an ecologically just society.

Le but principal de ce travail a été de reprendre les transformations du concept de la nature au sein de la philosophie occidentale et de mettre en relation l'histoire du droit, à partir des catégories analytiques telles que le pouvoir et la domination qui tracent un chemin particulier au déroulement de la crise environnementale également mise en question aujourd'hui. L'objectif était de discuter le rôle du Droit en tant que science et comme un instrument de pouvoir qui a historiquement conduit seulement des tranches de la société à un statut de position dominante, ces petits groupes corroborent à la crise environnementale. En ce sens, il est inévitable de parler de l'Amazonie, en particulier du Pará, un État où la déforestation et les conflits atteignent des records. Le reflet de toutes ces transformations est vécu au quotidien dans cette région où des points de vue opposés sur la nature cohabitent conflictuellement et alors, c’est dans ce champ de forces que la classe dominante montre son pouvoir et détermine l'avenir de ce lieu. Nous présentons une brève analyse de la façon dont les juristes se manifestent dans les processus liés à des grands projets parmi la région ouest du Pará pour illustrer la vision et les concepts de la nature tirés par ces importants acteurs. Mais qu’est-ce que qui pourrait être vraiment différent dans cet ensemble qui se répète à travers le monde? A la fin, nous présentons les dernières discussions sur l'autonomisation sociale des agents qui résistent à la domination séculaire. La nature comme sujet de droit est non seulement une pensée tirée d’une dimension théorique biocentrique, mais aussi elle représente un mouvement de décolonisation de la pensée et des constructions européanisées / occidentales, ainsi qu'une construction de l'autonomisation des agents qui donne l'identité à ce lieu, l'Amazonie. / The main effort of the rescue work was the transformation of the concept of nature in Western philosophy and relate the history of law, analytic categories such as power and domination of drawing a particular way the crisis process environmental as discussed today. The aim was to discuss the role of law as a science and as an instrument of power that historically only led party on a dominant status and a mastery of the crisis experienced and propagated today. In this sense, it is inevitable question of the Amazon, in particular the state of Pará with record of deforestation and conflict. The reflection of all the transformations are experienced daily in the region where the nature diametrically opposed visions of the life of a conflict and therefore within the force field agents to show their power and dictate the future of this location. A brief analysis of how lawyers are manifested in processes related to large projects in the western region of Para to illustrate the vision and the nature of the concepts learned by these important agents. But what could be really different in this whole journey that repeats throughout the world? At the end, we present the latest discussions on the social empowerment of officers who resist the secular domination. Nature as a subject of rights is not only a thought or a biocentric theoretical aspect, is a decolonization movement of thought and theoretical constructs Europeanized / Western and a building accountability agents that give identity to place, the Amazon. / O principal esforço desde trabalho foi resgatar as transformações do conceito de natureza dentro da filosofia ocidental e relacionar a história do Direito, a partir de categorias analíticas como poder e dominação que desenham um caminho particular ao processo de crise ambiental tão discutido na atualidade. O objetivo era discutir o papel do Direito enquanto ciência e enquanto instrumento de poder que conduziu historicamente apenas parcelas das sociedades ao status de dominante e que exerce grande controle da crise hoje vivenciada e propagada. Neste sentido, é inexorável falar da Amazônia, especialmente do Pará, Estado com recordes de desmatamento e conflitos. O reflexo de todas as transformações são vivenciadas dia-a-dia na região onde visões de natureza diametralmente opostas convivem conflituosamente e, portanto, será dentro do campo de forças que os agentes demonstram seu poder e ditam o futuro deste lugar. Apresentamos uma breve analise de como os juristas manifestam-se dentro dos processos relacionados aos grandes projetos na região oeste do Pará como ilustração da visão e dos conceitos de natureza apreendidos por esses importantes agentes. Mas o que poderia ser realmente diferente em todo esse percurso que se repete em todo mundo? Ao final, apresentamos as últimas discussões quanto ao empoderamento social de agentes que resistem à dominação secular. A natureza enquanto sujeito de Direitos não é apenas um pensamento ou uma vertente teórica biocêntrica, representa um movimento de descolonização do pensamento e das construções teóricas europeizadas/ocidentais, como também uma construção de empoderamento dos agentes que dão identidade ao lugar, a Amazônia.

From some reflections on the man (culture) nature relationship, the paper arrives at a set of more specific considerations about nature and the legal system. These will allow sustaining some of their legal expressions: natural resources heritage, commons, and ecosystem, among others. To conclude, the theme of nature as subject will be discussed, complementing the discussion with the topic of the legal system and animals. / A partir de unas reflexiones sobre la relación hombre (cultura) naturaleza, se arriba a un conjunto de consideraciones más específicas sobre el sistema jurídico y la naturaleza, las cuales permitirán sustentar algunas de sus expresiones jurídicas: recursos naturales patrimonio, commons, ecosistema entre otras. Finalmente se discute el tema de la naturaleza como sujeto, complementando la discusión con el asunto del sistema legal y los animales.

In March of 2017, New Zealand passed the Te Awa Tupua Act, a law that established the river Whanganui as a legal entity, with the same rights and obligations as a person. This commitment from the New Zealand government gave rise to the possibilities of protecting the ecosystem surrounding the river, but also strengthen the rights of the indigenous people, the Māori's, which consider Whanganui a part of their ancestry and heritage. The aim of this research is to study the ethical argumentation that motivates the recognition of the Whanganui River as a legal entity and connect that with the theoretical approach presented by Mikael Stenmark in Miljöetik och Miljövård: Miljöfrågornas Värderingsmässiga Dimension. The study will also seek to observe how the argumentation is influenced by a minority perspective, more specifically the Māori, and the oppression of their people since the colonization of New Zealand. The theoretical foundations for this study is the environmental ethics framework presented by Stenmark, which can be summed up in three main approaches: anthropocentrism, ecocentrism and biocentrism. A content-oriented ideational analysis lays the groundwork for mapping what moral positions and perceptions that motivates the recognition of the Whanganui River as a legal entity. In addititon, the study has transcribed videos with indigenous people which has been categorized and structured according to the theoretical framework. The analysis concludes that the colonial intergenerational oppression on the Māori's and the observed negative impact on the river corresponds with the well-being of the Māori people. This observed correlation, combined with a modified holistic ecocentrism, is the foundation to which a selected group of Māori's justify and motivate the Te Awa Tupua Act. This essay also problematize that environmental ethics is characterized by a context that need to be supplemented with an updated and multifaceted view of our nature and indigenous people, which draws attention to more positions that in history have not been given enough space in academic context.

The climate crisis is one of the biggest challenges humanity has ever faced, posing severe threats to people around the world. Increased awareness about this crisis as well as a growing call for a more sustainable world can be noted not only by scientists and activists but also in the political and economic sector as well as within religious communities. Making Ecocide - the destruction of the planet - an international crime could be a crucial step in tackling the climate crisis. Research has shown that communication is a powerful tool to create awareness and shape public opinion about sustainable development and the environment. Sustainability communication is a small but growing field in media and communication research (Weder et al. 2021: 2). However, research on audiences of sustainability communication, particularly on specific groups other than the general public, has been scarce.  This study analyzes spiritual and religious leaders’ perceptions of the Ecocide Law, their understanding of the mediated communication through the interreligious coalition ‘Faith for Ecocide Law’, and the influence of the communication on their attitudes and behavior towards the support of the law. For this purpose, semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with religious and spiritual leaders in Sweden. The results illustrate that the Ecocide Law is perceived as a powerful tool to fight environmental degradation and is highly supported by the religious leaders that were examined. Their support is motivated by worldviews, beliefs, values, and an understanding of nature as part of the holy creation, as well as humanity’s responsibility to protect it. Additional factors such as thorough pre-existing knowledge about environmental issues, sociodemographics, and a close relationship with nature influenced the perceptions and understanding of the communication. Furthermore, media technologies turned out to play only a small role as the informants, albeit frequent media consumers, became aware and supportive of the Ecocide Law through face-to-face communication with leading Ecocide Law activists. A thorough search of the existing academic literature indicates that this study is amongst the first to examine religious leaders’ perceptions of the Ecocide Law as well as the coalition Faith for Ecocide Law and of the communication on their digital platforms (LinkedIn, YouTube, Website) and emphasizes the need for sustainability communication to more specifically target key actors that can influence decision-making for sustainable development. Therefore, this study lays the ground for further research.

Quel droit de l’environnement pour quelle société ? Avec une méthode qui conjoint un examen socio-anthropologique et un examen juridique, cette thèse pose la question pour la Nouvelle-Calédonie, par une analyse du passé récent, des difficultés contemporaines et d’une refondation rendue possible par une évolution de la pensée juridique et au moyen d’outils élaborés récemment ailleurs et qui ont permis par exemple de reconnaître la personnalité juridique à des éléments de la nature.Reconnue comme hotspot mondial de la biodiversité, avec la menace environnementale que constitue l’exploitation des immenses ressources minières de nickel, comment la Nouvelle-Calédonie, près de 150 ans après son annexion par la France et son engagement depuis une trentaine d’années sur le chemin de la décolonisation, s’y prend-elle pour protéger son environnement naturel ? La réponse que nous obtenons par l’étude du droit positif, des institutions, du droit comparé, des discours et du travail de terrain, est claire : le droit applicable aujourd’hui en Nouvelle-Calédonie est issu d’une rationalisation exogène des relations sociales. Il est de fait inadapté au contexte culturel du Pacifique. Les relations Homme Nature, équilibrées, ont été « désenchantées » par la christianisation, la colonisation et la rationalisation scientifique. Comme dans beaucoup d’endroits, en Nouvelle-Calédonie, le sacré qui caractérisait ces relations a été écarté au profit de ce que nous avons choisi d’appeler le « complexe de Noé » et qui est devenu le fondement de toute politique environnementale. Notre diagnostic sur les limites du droit de l’environnement actuel, révèle en détail les carences de l’ingénierie institutionnelle contemporaine, fondée sur des préoccupations politiques de gestion pacifiée d’une société plurielle et de rééquilibrages entre communautés et territoires pour compenser des retards de développement dus aux erreurs du passé.Il existe toutefois un contexte favorable depuis quelques années pour réenchanter la protection juridique de la nature et de ses éléments. Des gouvernements ou des juges sous d’autres latitudes reconnaissent la personnalité juridique à des éléments de la nature. Il est désormais possible de dépasser une conception restrictive du pluralisme juridique comme cohabitation étanche d’ordres juridiques irréconciliables et d’avancer vers un métissage du droit endogène et d’un ordre juridique associé aux formes de l’Etat moderne. Nous suivrons de près la co-construction, avec les populations et les autorités coutumières, par la Province des Iles Loyauté, d’un droit de l’environnement négocié et de principes innovants qui permettent enfin de prendre en compte pleinement dans le droit positif la vision Kanak de la nature. Grâce à une méthode participative d’élaboration du droit, il apparaît que l’on peut concilier, les pluralismes (culturels, sociaux, politiques et juridiques) de la Nouvelle-Calédonie du 21ème siècle, dans le cadre d’un droit négocié, seul garant de l’effectivité du droit pour protéger l’environnement naturel dans un contexte global de changements environnementaux. / What environmental law for which society? With a method that combines a socio-anthropological examination and a legal examination, this thesis raises the question for New Caledonia, through an analysis of the recent past, contemporary difficulties and a re-foundation made possible by an evolution of legal thought and by means of tools developed recently elsewhere, which have made it possible, for example, to recognize the legal personality of elements of nature.Recognized as a global hotspot of biodiversity, with the exploitation of its huge nickel resources being a major environmental threat, how does New Caledonia, nearly 150 years after its annexation by France and its commitment for thirty years on the path of decolonization, fare in protecting its natural environment? The answer we get from the study of positive law, institutions, comparative law, speeches and field work is clear: the law applicable today in New Caledonia is the result of an exogenous rationalization of social relations. It is in fact unsuited to the cultural context of the Pacific. Balanced Man-Nature relations have been "disenchanted" by Christianization, colonization and scientific rationalization. As in many places, in New Caledonia, the sacredness that characterized these relationships has been sidelined in favor of what we have chosen to call "Noah’s complex" and which has become the foundation of any environmental policy. Our diagnosis on the limits of the current environmental law, reveals in detail the shortcomings of contemporary institutional engineering, based on political concerns for a peaceful management of a plural society and for rebalancing between communities and territories to compensate for underdevelopment due to past mistakes.However, there is a favorable context in recent years to re-enchant the legal protection of nature and its elements. Governments or judges in other latitudes recognize the legal personality of elements of nature. It is now possible to go beyond a restrictive conception of legal pluralism as the tight coexistence of irreconcilable legal orders and to advance towards a hybridization of the endogenous right and a legal order associated with the forms of the modern state. We will closely follow the co-construction, with the populations and the customary authorities, by the Loyalty Islands Province, of a negotiated environmental law and innovative principles that finally allow to fully take into account within positive law the Kanak vision of nature. Thanks to a participative method of elaboration of the law, it appears that we can reconcile the pluralisms (cultural, social, political and legal) of New Caledonia in the 21st century, within the framework of a negotiated law that is the only guarantee for the effectiveness of the law to protect the natural environment in a context of global environmental change.

What do the current Constitutions of Bolivia, Ecuador, Colombia and Venezuela   have in common? These are all part of what is known asthe new Latin American constitutionalism, a recenttheory  of  Constitutional  Law  that  offers  a new approach to analize the role of constitutionalism inthe present times.THĒMIS-Law Review had the opportunity to interview the main representative of this Latin American constitutionalism, with regard to what this new proposal is about, the solutions it presents, the challenges it faces, as well as the reading it offers about constitutional phenomenons and Constitutional Law institutions. / ¿Qué tienen en común las Constituciones vigentesde Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador y Bolivia? Todas ellas son parte de lo que se denomina el nuevo constitucionalismo latinoamericano, una corriente del Derecho Constitucional que propone un nuevo enfoque para analizar el rol del constitucionalismo en nuestros tiempos.THĒMIS-Revista de Derecho tuvo la oportunidad de conversar con uno de los principales teóricos de este constitucionalismo latinoamericano, respecto de qué trata esta nueva propuesta, las soluciones que ella plantea, los retos que se le presentan, así como la lectura que ofrece respecto de los fenómenos constitucionales e instituciones del Derecho Constitucional.

The Rights of Nature is a relatively new approach to sustainable development, promoting that current environmental legislation is insufficient to protect Nature from human harm. The Rights of Nature movements emphases the importance of recognizing other living entities in our legal system. Ecuador was the first country in the world to incorporate the Rights of Nature into its Constitution in 2008. Based on semi-structured interviews, this study aims to investigate the awareness of the Rights of Nature among the inhabitants of the Equatorian small-town of Esperie and how they perceive and relate to the Rights of Nature in practice and whether the implementation has brought about any changes in their lives and community. The central findings of the study demonstrate that the majority of the respondents are aware of the Rights of Nature, also led to changes in society but also in respondents' lives and environment. The results also revealed various challenges that have arisen in the implementation of the Rights of Nature in practice and Due to stricter environmental laws and pressure from the people, the authorities have started to take measures to protect and respect Nature.