The Turning Point in Private Law

Ecology, Technology and the Commons

Elgar Studies in Legal Theory

Ugo Mattei, University of California, Hastings, US, International University College, Collegio Carlo Alberto and University of Turin and Alessandra Quarta, University of Turin and International University College, Italy

Can private law assume an ecological meaning? Can property and contract defend nature? Is tort law an adequate tool for paying environmental damages to future generations? The Turning Point in Private Law explores potential resolutions to these questions, analyzing the evolution of legal thinking in relation to the topics of legal personality, property, contract and tort. The authors pose a suggested list of basic principles for a new, ecological legal system in which private law represents a valid ally for defending our future.

‘The Turning Point in Private Law offers a radical and clear analysis of the most fundamental legal institutions of private law and suggests a way out from the serious threat to the survival of civilization on our planet caused by the dominant extractive policy in the Anthropocene. Bringing together the most advanced insights of legal theory, Mattei and Quarta demonstrate how ecological awareness can transform lawyers’ understanding of the generative system of law. A stimulating challenge speaking to lawyers as well as to everyone in today’s political climate.’
– Antonio Gambaro, Accademia dei Lincei, Italy

‘A political manifesto for the survival of critical legal thought, this brilliant little book responds to the most destructive forms of global capitalism with a counter-hegemonic interpretation of the foundational institutions of private law, in order to produce a new ecological order based on the collective intelligence of the common(s).’
– Horatia Muir Watt, SciencesPo Law School, France