Fiduciary Duty and the Atmospheric Trust

This book explores the application of concepts of fiduciary duty or public trust in responding to the policy and governance challenges posed by policy problems that extend over multiple terms of government or even, as in the case of climate change, human generations. The volume brings together a range of perspectives including leading international thinkers on questions of fiduciary duty and public trust, Australia's most prominent judicial advocate for the application of fiduciary duty, top law scholars from several major universities, expert commentary from an influential climate policy think-tank and the views of long-serving highly respected past and present parliamentarians. The book presents a detailed examination of the nature and extent of fiduciary duty, looking at the example of Australia and having regard to developments in comparable jurisdictions. It identifies principles that could improve the accountability of political actors for their responses to major problems that may extend over multiple electoral cycles.

Charles Sampford, Foundation Dean, Law School at Griffith University and later foundation director of the Key Centre for Ethics, Lord Justice and Governance. Director of the Institute for Ethics, Governance and Law, a joint initiative of the United Nations, and University of Griffith from September 2004. Convenor of the Australian Research Council Funded Governance Research Network. His research since 1990 has concentrated in the areas of applied ethics, ethics regimes, constitutional law, corruption measurement, integrity system, the rule of law, and the role of values in international affairs.