About
Why precedent matters
Every court decision for the planet is also a tool for the next one. We make sure those tools are understood, shared and used.
Our idea
Everything depends on a healthy environment: human rights, economies, education, livelihoods and the quality of everyday life. When it is damaged, nothing else is untouched.
Nature also matters in its own right, as rivers, forests and oceans that courts are beginning to recognise as more than a resource.
Yet the science of what is happening and the law’s response are rarely explained together. Research is hard to follow, judgments are long and technical, and the communities most exposed to environmental harm often have the least access to either.
Planet & Precedent brings them together. We explain what is happening to the planet, what the courts are doing about it, and what it means for the people and ecosystems affected. We follow cases from national, regional and international courts, and place each one in its scientific and human context.
We also care about where this law is being made. Climate jurisprudence is still developing, and its direction is shaped by who brings cases and which courts are heard. We want to help build a body of law that includes the Global South, and that gives both people and nature a voice.
How we work
From judgment to next case
- 01
Track
We follow climate and environmental cases through national, regional and international courts.
- 02
Explain
We turn each important ruling into a plain-language note: what was decided, why, and what it changes.
- 03
Build
We connect the reasoning to new claims, so others can build on what has already been won.
Who we work for
For people who use the law
- Lawyers & litigatorsLooking for arguments that have already worked in court.
- Communities & campaignersDeciding whether and how to take legal action.
- Students & researchersStudying how environmental law is changing.
- Journalists & policymakersNeeding a quick, accurate read on a new ruling.