ABSTRACT
This chapter contributes to the study and development of a water law jurisprudence based on Christian principles. It proposes that Catholic social thought can ground a workable system of water law that harmonises property rights in water with the human right to water, other beings’ access to water, and water protection. This thesis is argued for on the basis that during late Antiquity and the Middle Ages, Christian jurists and theologians developed a workable system of water law consistent with their religious tradition. The principles they relied upon are still endorsed by Catholic social thought and are integrated into modern water law systems. This study aims to support the Catholic Church’s contribution to the debates about water law and policy by clarifying its proposals for solving water problems. In so doing it exemplifies one aspect of the response to the call of Laudato Si’ to care for our common home. Not only must we take care of our water resources and supply, but we must take care of our legal systems for securing and regulating that essential means to life.
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Rodrigo Pablo Pérez, Water Jurisprudence, Property Rights and Catholic Thought in Connecting Ecologies – Integrating Responses to the Global Challenge (Patrick Riordan and Gavin Flood eds) (Routledge, June 2024).
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