Conference

The conference was divided into three panels. Each panel included several presentations and concluded with a discussion. The conference concluded with a general discussion covering all sections.

The schedule can be found in the following program outline or in the flyer.

Thursday 21^st September 2023
10.30 – 11.00 Registration
11.00 – 11.15 Welcome address – Prof. Dr. Birgit Peters, Trier University / Prof. Dr. Nils Schaks, Mannheim University

Keynote Address: “The Status Quo and its Deficits”
In introduction, the existing legal concepts for combating climate change and the destruction of nature, in particular their viability and feasibility were addressed. In addition, speakers identified what requirements a comprehensive legal concept would need to meet from the perspective of climate science, in order to become part of a scientifically sound solution.

11.15 – 11.45 Prof. Dr. Christina Voigt, Oslo University
11.45 – 12.30 Discussion
12.30 – 14.00 Lunch break

1. panel: “Towards a Comprehensive Approach”
Legal scholarship and legal practice have already addressed natural and environmental degradation, but rather selectively and not in the comprehensive sense envisioned here. The first panel was devoted to the question of how environmental law could and should be shaped in order to establish a new governance regime that enables human beings to survive in harmony with nature in the long term.

14.00 – 14.30 Prof. Dr. Laura Burgers, University of Amsterdam
14.30 – 15.00 Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Köck, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Umweltforschung, Leipzig
15.00 – 16.00 Discussion
16.00 – 16.30 Coffee break

2. panel: “Objectives and Methodological Approach”
The second panel was concerned with jurisprudence. How could a specific “Law & Nature” perspective on law look like? Which legal methods/principles will it comprise? How can jurisprudential methods reduce identified deficits and contribute to the realization of regulatory goals and to address environmental and nature degradation in the most consistent way?

16.30 – 17.00 Prof. Dr. Maria Lee, University College London
17.00 – 17.30 Prof. Dr. Josh Gellers, University of North Florida
17.30 – 18.30 Discussion

Friday 22^nd September 2023

3. panel: “Values”
The third and final panel was devoted to the values of nature. Nature is too rarely perceived as a value in itself, and when it is, it is often implemented inconsistently. What are the values of nature beyond a logic of exploitability, how can we identify them, and how can we build a new comprehensive concept of rights on this basis?
9.00 – 9.30Prof. Dr. Elena Lazos Chavero, Instituto de Investigaciones Sociales Cd. Universitaria, Coyoacán, Ciudad de México
9.30 – 10.00Julia Dehm, La Trobe, Melbourne (remote)
10.00 – 11.00 Discussion
11.00 – 11.30 Coffee break

General Discussion and Future Prospects: “Law and Nature”
11.30 – 12.15 General discussion
12.15 – 12.30 Closing remarks - Prof. Dr. Birgit Peters, Trier University / Prof. Dr. Nils Schaks, Mannheim University

Here is a list of hotels located near the campus, along with a brief description. 

Please note that all information provided is not guaranteed.

A report on the conference has been published as listed below.

1.  Carlos Gehret: Symposium: Law and Nature – Towards a New Legal Approach in ZUR 2024, 58–60