The Common Heritage of Mankind: A Cosmopolitan Preservationist Ethic

The common heritage of mankind, presently only a weakly-articulated principle of international law, postulates that some assets are valuable for all mankind and hence should preserved for perpetuity. This project aims to provide the first systematic, unified moral framework for understanding this principle. It expects to analyse the ground and scope of cosmopolitan duties to protect assets belonging to this heritage, thereby contributing to important philosophical debates on intergenerational justice, cosmopolitanism, climate change, and humanitarian intervention. Its expected outputs include practical guidance to policymakers and stakeholders in reshaping global governance around this principle.