‘Environmental Stewardship’ and Article 11 of the 1922 Constitution

Article 11 of the 1922 Constitution provides for State ownership of ‘natural resources’. This chapter argues that Article 11—and the successor provision it inspired in Bunreacht na hÉireann—can be understood as creating a State duty of environmental stewardship. This duty entails managing the country’s natural resources to respond to the current climate and biodiversity crises.