Exploring the role of the law to confront planetary crises through North-South teaching and research

During November 2023, Dr Melanie Murcott, Associate Professor at the Institute of Marine and Environmental Law, set out to engage in North-South teaching and research about how the law can be more responsive to climate change and other planetary crises of the Anthropocene. Melanie did so in collaboration with Dr. Matteo Fermeglia, Assistant Professor of Climate Law and Governance, Faculty of Humanities, University of Amsterdam, and External Voluntary Researcher at Hasselt University. 

On 21 November 2023, Melanie gave a talk to members of the Faculty of Humanities and the Amsterdam School for Transnational, European and Regional Studies at University of Amsterdam, Netherlands, on the topic "Constitutionalism for a Time of Planetary Crisis". Melanie's talk contrasted Western liberal models of constitutionalism of the Global North with transformative, post-colonial models of constitutionalism of the Global South. She pointed out that the latter is conducive to emerging approaches such as transformative environmental constitutionalism and ecological constitutionalism. She presented the hypothesis that such approaches could be better suited to responding to the prevailing planetary crisis than Western liberal constitutionalism. Lastly, details of Melanie's important monograph, Transformative Environmental Constitutionalism (Brill, 2022), were shared.

Melanie was also honored to give a guest lecture on 23 November 2023, fully funded by DIOS Global Minds programme of Hasselt University, Belgium in the interdisciplinary course, Globalisation and Sustainable Development. Melanie co-lectured students with Matteo on the topic "Transformative litigation amidst the climate crisis". Drawing on climate cases litigated in South Africa and Germany, they demonstrated how litigation can advance resilient and equitable communities.