Punishing the Last Citizens? On the Climate Necessity Defence

Datos Bibliográficos

ID12568502
AutoresIvó Coca Vila (0000-0002-2507-7974, autor de correspondencia)
Año2023
Volumen30
Número3
Páginas567-587
Fecha de publicación2023-11-20
Peer ReviewedSí
Open AccessSí
TipoARTICLE
RevistaRes Publica. Revista de Historia de las Ideas Politicas (JOURNAL)
Identificadores de la revistaISSN: 1576-4184 • E-ISSN: 1989-6115
EditorialSpringer Science+Business Media (PUBLISHER • DE)
DOI10.1007/s11158-023-09642-y
OpenAlexW4388834257
IdiomaEN
Citas recibidas2
Referencias citadas46

Faced with the inaction of liberal democracies to effectively tackle global warming, many climate activists engage in forms of protests that involve committing minor criminal offences. They seek to shape official decisions on climate policies by resorting to civil disobedience. Some of these activists, rather than accepting punishment, have successfully claimed to be acting in a justified manner by invoking the necessity defence. The aim of this article is to show that, within the framework of representative democracies guided by the rule of law, the climate necessity defence must be rejected, since such protests do not meet the ‘non-legal alternatives’ requirement. This does not mean, however, that protesters should be punished as common offenders. Their acceptance of responsibility and political motivation should be taken into account as a mitigating factor at sentencing

Civil disobedience · Law and economics · Minor (academic · Political philosophy · Political science · Politics · Punishment (psychology · Sociology · Environmental law and policy · International Law and Human Rights · Law · Psychology · Social Psychology · Wildlife Conservation and Criminology Analyses

Herramientas

Abrir DOIOpen Access