Western Liberal and International Law

The general human-nature relationship in the liberal West is also reflected in the law. The role of law has been primarily to facilitate, regulate and justify human exploitation of nature. The chapter seeks to trace anthropocentrism in contemporary Western liberal and international law. It aims to disclose legal anthropocentrism to allow for a critique of legal anthropocentrism and, building on this, pave the way for a discussion of how it may be complemented or overcome by non-anthropocentric concepts such as rights of nature. After a look at the general human-nature divide in law, the chapter focuses on the evolution and current state of environmental legal norms. It will show that both Western liberal domestic law and international law entrench legal anthropocentrism.