[1][2] It states that human societies will only be viable and flourish if they regulate themselves as part of this wider Earth community and do so in a way that is consistent with the fundamental laws or principles that govern how the universe functions, which is the 'Great Jurisprudence'.
Earth jurisprudence is intended to provide a philosophical basis for the development and implementation of human governance systems, which may include ethics, laws, institutions, policies and practices.
The feasibility of developing a new form of jurisprudence was discussed at a conference in Washington attended by Thomas Berry in April 2001, organised by the Gaia Foundation.
The mission of the Centre, which is co-sponsored by Barry and St. Thomas Universities, Florida, is to re-envision law and governance in ways that support the well being of the Earth community as a whole.
Cormac Cullinan of EnAct International, South Africa, Thomas Linzey and Richard Grossman both of Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund, Pennsylvania, and Liz Hosken of Gaia Foundation, London, are amongst the speakers at the new Centre for Earth Jurisprudence in Florida, USA, April 2007.
A participatory event to develop a practical approach for applying Wild Law principles which are already helping shift legal processes in the US and South Africa.
Internationally renowned speakers will include Andrew Kimbrell, Executive Director of the Center for Food Safety, Pennsylvania, who helped win a Supreme Court case in the US on climate change; Cormac Cullinan, the South African lawyer and author of Wild Law; and Peter Roderick, Director of the Climate Justice Programme UK, a barrister with twenty years' experience in private practise, the oil industry, academia and the public interest environmental sector, and was Friends of the Earth's lawyer in London from 1996.