When Nature Raises Its Voice: From Anthropocentrism to Biocentrism and the Judicial Expansion of Article 21 in Reviving Ecological Rights in India’s Climate Change Jurisprudence”
Year: 2026
Type: article
Abstract: The development of Indian environmental jurisprudence has shifted from anthropocentrism to biocentrism, particularly in the context of climate change litigation. The paper will evaluate the constitutional changes to Article 21 that extended its defense of autonomous mental and physical rights to encompass environmental protections. While environmental laws and policies have long served as crucial tools for protecting ecosystems, they often struggle to adapt to the rapidly evolving threats. Though court decisions have protected natural ecosystems even when they lack benefits for human beings. Judicial decisions from today demonstrate the court's backing of climate justice in their pursuit of sustainable development. This paper evaluates court-established environmental rights that stem from the application of intergenerational equity enabled by precautionary principles and public trust doctrine principles. The object of this paper is to explore how advocacy of biocentrism through legal support can build national and global dialogues about ecological rights. Through the expansion of Article 21, judicial decisions can transform climate change issues, which emerge through establishing a framework based on nature-related rights. The research methodology for this article is doctrinal in nature.
Institution: Central University of Punjab
Language: English
Topic: Environmental law and policy
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
OpenAlex ID: W7140189695