United Kingdom Supreme Court Justice Robert Carnwath has urged the judiciary to develop ‘common laws of the environment’, which can operate within different legal frameworks, tailored where necessary towards specific constitutions or statutory codes. One such mechanism with the potential for repositioning environmental discourse in both common law and civil law jurisdictions is the doctrine of the public trust. Basing their arguments upon a heritage of civil law and common law, supporters of the public trust doctrine are currently testing its scope in United States federal courts via groundbreaking litigation aimed at forcing the federal government to uphold its duty to protect the atmosphere. This article considers whether common law judicial resourcefulness can transform a transatlantic hybrid of uncertain parentage into a powerful tool of environmental protection.

中文翻译：

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司法资源与公信论：环境保护的有力工具？

英国最高法院大法官罗伯特·卡恩沃斯（Robert Carnwath）敦促司法机构制定“环境普通法”，该法可以在不同的法律框架内运作，并在必要时根据具体宪法或法规进行调整。一种可能在普通法和大陆法系司法管辖区重新定位环境话语的机制是公共信托原则。基于民法和普通法传统的论点，公共信托原则的支持者目前正在美国联邦法院通过旨在迫使联邦政府履行其保护大气的责任的开创性诉讼来测试其范围。