Justice is incomplete if it looks only to the present, and it loses sight of the human person if it concerns itself only with the future. The present generation has the right to benefit from security, health, development, education, well-being, natural resources, and scientific and technological progress; by the same token, future generations should not inherit a world in which the prospects for a dignified life, meaningful choice, and equitable access to resources have already been diminished. Intergenerational justice, therefore, is neither a call to sacrifice the present in the name of the future nor a license to secure the interests of today at the cost of imposing their burdens on tomorrow. Rather, it is an effort to establish a just relationship between the present generation’s right to benefit from the world and its responsibilities toward those who have no voice in today’s decision-making institutions, yet will live with the consequences of the choices made today.
In an age marked by climate change, water crises, biodiversity loss, unsustainable models of development, threats to cultural and natural heritage, and the expansion of technologies with far-reaching consequences, this issue is no longer merely an ethical concern. It has become one of the emerging frontiers of human rights, international law, environmental law, and theories of justice. The central question is how to forge a fair relationship between “intragenerational justice” and “intergenerational justice” so that poverty, inequality, and deprivation in the present are not left unaddressed while, at the same time, the costs of development, resource consumption, and high-risk decisions are not transferred to generations that had no role in shaping them. Within this framework, concepts such as intergenerational stewardship, sustainable development, the principle of prevention, the long-term responsibilities of states, and the preservation of future generations’ capacity to choose acquire renewed and fundamental significance.
Against this backdrop, the tenth issue of the Datikan analytical quarterly, entitled “From the Rights of the Present Generation to the Rights of Future Generations: Rethinking Intergenerational Justice,” is devoted to examining the legal, cultural, political, social, economic, and environmental dimensions of this issue. The volume seeks to reconsider the relationship between the rights of present and future generations, the right to development, state responsibility, long-term governance, the protection of the environment and natural resources, cultural heritage, emerging technologies, and the place of future generations within the discourse of human rights and international law. In this regard, the Human Rights Institute of the University of Isfahan invites university professors, researchers, students, legal scholars, experts, and practitioners from around the world to submit scholarly articles, analytical notes, and research contributions in full accordance with the “Submission Guidelines” no later than December 6, 2026.
Submission Methods
Telegram and Eitaa: +989203184769
Email: datikan@hriui.com
Note: An official bilingual Certificate of Acceptance, in Persian and English, will be issued by the Human Rights Institute of the University of Isfahan to the authors of all accepted articles and notes.
To view the guidelines for preparing and submitting contributions, please click here.
