ABSTRACT
Modern law conceptualises normative regulations in terms of rights; modern legal systems are based on the idea that the law has to protect the rights of individuals. This chapter discusses questions of an ethics of rights, in general terms, and then with regard to rights related to the environment and with regard to future people. The protection of an environment that is necessary for the free activity of human beings is at least implicitly protected by the traditional human rights regimes, and increasingly it is explicitly protected too. Subsequently, it discusses criticisms of a rights approach and alternatives for discussing ecological challenges. Finally, the chapter sketches some topics for future discussions. The chapter addresses three perspectives: criticisms of rights theories in general; criticisms of the rights of future generations in particular; and non-anthropocentric alternative perspectives.
