People For Earth

The "Earth Jurisprudence for Citizens" event was held on April 26th at the National Assembly Members' Office Building. It was a meaningful occasion where Earth Jurisprudence experts and the general public took their "first step in Earth Jurisprudence" together. We are sharing a sketch of the event. 
 

Moderated by Attorney Bomi Kim of the Sun Pro Bono Center, the first session featured Attorney Hyejin Jung, Head of the Earth Jurisprudence Center at People for  Earth, who discussed the concept and history of Earth Jurisprudence studies under the theme "Why Earth Jurisprudence?" and the reasons why Earth Jurisprudence studies are needed in the age of climate crisis. In the second session, Professor Taehyun Park of Kangwon National University Law School, President of the Earth Jurisprudence Society, discussed "Earth Jurisprudence Case Precedents and Applicability in Korea." Afterwards, a discussion involving all attendees took place.

"Earth Jurisprudence is the Earth's Bill of Rights" 

"If law and institutions are meant to solve fundamental problems of reality, then the law and institutions themselves need to change fundamentally. To do so, legislative imagination is required." 

(Attorney Hyejin Jung)

"I come from a practical background and am very interested in implementation. I realized that slightly changing the existing system is not enough, and while searching for alternatives to environmental law, I found Wild Law." 

"It's a challenge to the fundamental concepts of law and an attempt to create fissures in the law. For example, it's about recognizing the right-holder status of nature, which used to be attributed as an object, subject, asset, or property. This is completely different from the existing approach, so initially, legal scholars called it nonsense, and I felt the same way."

(Professor Taehyun Park)

"Can giving rights to nature solve the climate crisis?" 

(Question from a citizen) 

"It creates a foundation for taking steps towards a solution. Earth Jurisprudence studies is not about creating specific individual laws but rather an approach. It can be understood as a concept that the values embedded in current human laws and institutions need to change. In this session, I wanted to introduce the possibility of creating laws based on an Earth-centered value system." 

"Giving rights to all of nature, as in South America, is currently difficult in Korea. However, an initiative has recently been launched in Jeju Island to introduce an ecological legal entity system for the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, a marine species. If legal personhood is granted to the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin, a value shift regarding the dolphin's existence will occur, which will lead to a cultural shift, and there will be such gradual changes." 

(Professor Taehyun Park's answer)

• The following is an article from the Seoul Economic Daily newspaper and the  Earth-protecting Warriors Newsletter (2024/05/02).
•  

〈If Rivers and Dolphins Are Given Legal Status and Rights〉

There are many things we can do for the Earth, but the editor is likely not the only one who is hearing the concept of 'Earth Jurisprudence' for the first time. However, law that incorporates a perspective of thinking about the Earth seemed like one of the truly effective ways to prevent the climate crisis and protect the ecosystem. This is why Mango, a guest editor, rushed to the 'Earth Jurisprudence for Citizens' lecture held at the National Assembly Members' Office Building in Yeongdeungpo-gu, Seoul, on the 26th of last month.

Earth Jurisprudence, on the Highway to Climate Hell

Earth Jurisprudence is a concept proposed in 2001 by Thomas Berry, an ecologist and priest. The core idea is to grant legal rights to all beings living on Earth. Once a specific entity has rights, our society must define what it can and cannot do. For example, if legal status is given to animals or trees, they become entitled to legitimate protection. Just as perpetrators are punished when human rights are violated, legal responsibility can be imposed when the ecosystem is destroyed through unreasonable slaughter or logging.

Since the UN Conference on the Human Environment was held in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1972, environmental laws have been continuously proposed, but ecosystems and the climate continue to deteriorate. Environmental activists argue that current environmental laws have failed to prevent humanity from crossing a kind of point of no return and that a new approach is needed. The governing purpose and ideology of law and institutions need to change. Earth Jurisprudence is the result of such deliberation. Attorney Hyejin Jung, who gave a lecture on "Why Earth Jurisprudence?" that day, emphasized, "Standing on the highway to climate hell, the Earth needs new laws," and stressed that "Earth Jurisprudence is the Earth's Bill of Rights."

New Zealand's River, the First in the World to Have Legal Rights

Does this sound absurd? Changes based on Earth Jurisprudence are already taking place in various parts of the world. First, in 2017, New Zealand became the first country in the world to grant the Whanganui River legal rights equivalent to those of a person. As a result, civic groups can legally protect the river on its behalf. In 2008, Ecuador enshrined the rights of nature in its constitution, guaranteeing the right to maintain life and the right to regeneration and restoration. Change is also happening slowly in Korea. Last year, Jeju Island announced that it would push for legal revisions to introduce an ecological legal entity system. An ecological legal entity is a system that grants legal rights to ecologically valuable flora and fauna, and natural environments, such as the Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins that inhabit the coast of Jeju.

Professor Taehyun Park of Kangwon National University Law School explained, "The constitutions of Ecuador and Bolivia contain the term 'Buen Vivir.'" He added, "Literally translated, it means 'good living,' but it implies a way of life that coexists with nature." It can be interpreted as a good life with the Earth. Professor Park further stated, "Good living is about providing appropriate answers in a situation where the ecosystem and the Earth face a crisis."

Earth Jurisprudence does not advocate for completely overhauling the entire legal system. Instead, it is a concept that the values embedded in human laws and institutions need to change. Professor Park explained, "Earth Jurisprudence should be understood not as creating specific individual laws, but as an 'approach,'" and added, "From a legal perspective, it is difficult to solve the climate crisis if human-centered laws do not change."

These concerns may feel new and unfamiliar for now. However, just as climate disclosure and carbon regulations have become a reality, might Earth Jurisprudence also become commonplace someday? An official from the non-profit organization The Sun, which began offering Earth Jurisprudence courses for legal professionals in 2015, explained, "In the early days of the Earth Jurisprudence course, there were only 20 participants, but interest has increased so much in the last three years that the number has exceeded 300." Change may already be happening.