The Public Trust Doctrine in Brief

The Public Trust Doctrine in Brief

Description

The public trust doctrine, a venerable doctrine, is the oldest legal principle recognizing public rights in natural resources. The doctrine originated in Roman law, resurfaced in English common law, and migrated to the United States in the early nineteenth century. The U.S. Supreme Court recognized public rights in navigable waters nearly two centuries ago, and the Court protected public trust resources from privatization as well as from substantial impairment in the late nineteenth century, perhaps announcing the nation's first environmental law. Although the federal test for navigability marks the minimum scope of resources subject to the doctrine, states have often expanded its scope to non-navigable waters, wetlands, water rights, wildlife, parklands, beaches, and public lands. Public usufructuary rights in private lands are not unusual.

This book examines all these issues, from the public trust's origins to its variegated applications and its present-day significance. It provides an introduction to the doctrine, for both students and practitioners, of this historic and also contemporary protection of public rights in natural resources.

ISBN

9781531031244

Publication Date

2026

Document Type

Book

Publisher

Carolina Academic Press

City

Durham, NC

Keywords

Public Trust Doctrine, public trust resources, navigable waters, usufructuary rights, natural resources law, environmental law, Roman law, common law

Disciplines

Environmental Law | Law | Natural Resources Law | Public Interest | Public Law and Legal Theory

The Public Trust Doctrine in Brief

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