Ecological rule of law
Outline
The "Ecological Rule of Law" Working Group (WG) aims to establish a comprehensive framework that integrates ecological considerations into the rule of law. The focus is on transforming institutional and legal structures to ensure the protection of ecosystems and to facilitate the ecological transition of human societies. This involves addressing complex, interconnected challenges related to production, consumption, urbanization, and governance to create a more bioecocentric society.
The WG's approach centers on promoting an "ecological rule of law," which requires embedding ecological and climate components into all branches of law, not just environmental law. This involves collaborating with judicial, legislative, and academic networks to develop tools, norms, and indicators that support the ecological transition. The WG will conduct workshops and consultations to gather insights and best practices, particularly from the Global South, which has shown leadership in environmental judicial activism.
Challenges to Information as a Public Good :
Axe 1: Judicial Engagement
The skateholders are Judges' networks, national green courts, international organizations like the United Nations Environment Program. Expectations are to foster a culture of ecological rule of law within judicial decision-making, promote judicial activism that incorporates ecological and climate considerations, and facilitate dialogues among judges.
Axe 2: Legislative Reforms
Stakeholders are legislative bodies, legal experts, policy-makers. The Expectations are to develop new norms and legislative reforms that integrate the ecological rule of law, recreate commons, and incorporate collective rights of present and future generations.
Axe 3: Academic and Policy Collaboration
The stakeholders are academic networks, judicial powers, policy-makers, institutions like the International Center for Comparative Environmental Law. The expectations are to create instruments to measure and evaluate the implementation of the ecological rule of law, develop process and outcome indicators, and operationalize these measures.
Axe 4: Democratizing Decision-Making
The stakeholders are international organizations, policy-makers, civil society. The expectations are to generate participatory institutional designs for decision-making, enhance access to public information, and improve frameworks for public participation, guided by conventions like the Aarhus Convention and the Escazu Agreement.