Earth Law is the idea that ecosystems have the right to exist, thrive, and evolve—and that Nature should be able to defend its rights in court, just like people can.

Despite decades of environmental legislation, Earth’s health continues to decline. Because our current laws protect Nature only for the benefit of people and corporations, profit usually takes priority over Nature. Even when environmental issues are brought to court, people must prove that the environmental damage violates their own rights since the environment has no rights of its own.

OUR MISSION IS TO TRANSFORM THE LAW TO RECOGNIZE, HONOR AND PROTECT NATURE’S INHERENT RIGHTS TO EXIST, THRIVE AND EVOLVE.

Earth Law Center is building an international grassroots movement from the ground up, one that speaks to the responsibility humans have to the world around.

In most countries, Nature has the legal status of mere property. This means that our current laws protect Nature largely for the benefit of people and corporations and not for Nature itself. ELC seeks to change this paradigm. We seek a new generation of law that recognizes the interconnectedness between humans and Nature and our responsibility to protect and defend Nature.

Earth Law Center strives to change our anthropocentric worldview and legal frameworks by:

Raising awareness through education and outreach and fostering a new generation of Earth law advocates;

Creating strategic partnerships with grassroots organizations and local and Indigenous communities to provide frontline legal support; and Securing new laws and landmark court decisions that strengthen our obligation to protect Nature.

Earth law is often called “ecocentric” law. It is an emerging body of law for protecting, restoring, and stabilizing the functional interdependency of Earth’s life and life-support systems. In other words, Earth law lets Nature operate naturally. It may be expressed in constitutional, statutory, common law, and customary law, as well as in treaties and other agreements both public and private. Earth law is both a departure from environmental law and a new context for its extension. It is considered ecocentric law, as opposed to and compared to anthropocentric law.

Within the framework of Earth law is the idea that ecosystems have the right to exist, thrive, and evolve—and that Nature should be able to defend its rights in court, just like people can. Some of the other specific movements falling under the banner of Earth law are nonhuman rights for animals, defining ecocide as a crime, and Indigenous rights.