Declaration for an Earth Constitution
The Earth system is the basis of everything and holds the lowest rank in our institutions. The Declaration asks for one thing: that the functioning of the Earth system receives superior legal rank wherever it is at risk, made effective by planetary institutions with a narrow mandate, democratic legitimacy and independent judicial review. A constitution, not a government. Eight principles on two pages.
Read the Declaration (v1.6, 25 September 2026, Zenodo): https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22960459
Initial signatories
All in a personal capacity. Affiliations are listed for identification only and imply no endorsement by an institution. In order of signing.
New Zealand
Law and governance
Dr Klaus Bosselmann
Professor Emeritus of Law, University of Auckland
Switzerland
Medicine and ethics
Dr Jean Martin, MD, MSPH
Public health physician, former member of the Swiss Federal Commission on Biomedical Ethics, former member of the Canton of Vaud Parliament
Nigeria
Civil society
Nnimmo Bassey
Director, Health of Mother Earth Foundation (HOMEF)
Switzerland
Law and politics
Luc Recordon
Physicist-engineer (dipl. EPFL), attorney, Doctor of Law, former member of the Swiss Council of States
Switzerland
Literature
Christophe Gallaz
Writer and columnist
South Africa
Publishing and civil society
GB Langa
Sustainability writer and publisher, Founder and Group CEO, The Langa Family Investments group
Denmark
Earth system science
Katherine Richardson
Professor in Biological Oceanography, Globe Institute, University of Copenhagen
Germany
Sustainability and sociology
Dietmar Küther
Corporate sustainability manager and sociologist, Freiburg, Basel
Germany
Sustainability studies
Prof. Dr. Michael von Kutzschenbach
Kutzschenbach Institute for Sustainability Studies, Freiburg
Switzerland
Medicine
Prof. Dr. med. Eric Bonvin
Psychiatrist and psychotherapist, social and cultural anthropologist, University of Lausanne
Switzerland
Philosophy
Prof. honoraire Dominique Bourg
University of Lausanne
Nigeria
Environmental law
Professor Ngozi Unuigbe
Professor of International Environmental Law, Policy and Ethics, University of Benin
Brazil
Climate science
Prof. Carlos A. Nobre
Professor Emeritus of Climate and Sustainability, University of São Paulo
Switzerland
Art and culture
Beat Toniolo
Artist and cultural mediator
India
Climate and ocean science
Dr Roxy Mathew Koll
Climate Scientist, Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology, Pune
Switzerland
Law and public office
lic. iur. et phil. Louis Kuhn
Former Ombudsman of the Canton of Basel-Landschaft
Switzerland
Theology
Joseph Thali
Theologian
As of 27 October 2026: seventeen initial signatories from eight countries.
If you share the question of rank and want to carry the Declaration as an initial signatory: mail@constitutionofearth.org
How the Declaration is revised
The Declaration sets one constitutional objective, stated in Principle II: the integrity of the Earth system "must have superior legal rank wherever its functioning is at risk". This priority applies "where actions or decisions can materially undermine the functioning of the Earth system". This objective is fixed. Together with the eight principles of version 1.6, it forms the common basis for all signatories.
Version 1.6 is the current authoritative version. It remains unchanged and is the sole reference text until a revised version is formally adopted. Revisions are prepared through a defined consultation, not through open-ended debate. Comments and proposals are collected ahead of the international symposium planned for 2027, reviewed, grouped and consolidated into a draft. The symposium examines the consolidated draft. A revised version may be adopted only under a consultation procedure published before the symposium. That procedure will define who decides, how decisions are made, how submissions are assessed, and which changes are editorial or substantive.
The consultation may refine the wording of the principles, their safeguards, the institutional design and the paths to implementation. Objections to the constitutional objective may be submitted and documented, but the consultation does not reopen that objective. Proposals that are not adopted do not suspend or alter version 1.6. Signing version 1.6 means supporting its eight principles and its constitutional objective.
It does not imply endorsement of every institutional proposal in the companion document, related publications or future drafts. A signature remains attached to the version signed. Editorial corrections that do not change meaning, scope or obligation require no renewed consent. A signatory is listed as supporting a later substantive version only after explicit confirmation.
Comments and proposals may be sent to: mail@constitutionofearth.org
Donald C. Jacob
Verein Constitution of Earth, Basel