November 14-15, 2020
Negotiating Institutional Transformation: International and Comparative Approaches to Justice in Environmental Protection
Supported by The Graciela Chichilnisky Environmental Fund
in Honor of Natasha Chichilnisky-Heal
Panel
Rights and Responsibilities in Relation to the Natural World; Reframing conceptions of justice
One of the most exciting innovations in environmental law and policy is the formal inclusion of nature in the panoply of rights. Of course, creating a legal space for nature is fraught with complications, especially where there are competing cultures that have different relationships with the natural world. Ecuador and New Zealand offer cardinal examples and highlight the difference between a legal world steeped in Anglo American traditions and one arising from the civil law tradition. How do these traditions compare? What opportunities does each system offer for resolving the complex problems this innovation presents? Do nature’s rights compete with or complement traditional human and indigenous rights?
Presenter

David Cordero-Heredia
Associate Professor of Law and Director of the Human Rights Centre
Pontifical Catholic University of Ecuador (PUCE)
Presenter

Catherine Iorns
Professor of Law
Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand
Discussant

Willie James Jennings
Associate Professor of Systematic Theology and Africana Studies
Yale Divinity School
Discussant

Christian Espinosa Schatz
Ph.D. Candidate in the combined doctoral degree program between the School of the Environment and Department of Anthropology at Yale University