In Defense of Future Generations

The notion of 'people' used in modern democracies deals only with those living here and now. But if we think about the future, we have to consider future generations, which today have neither voice nor proxy. This article proposes a project of super-jury for future generations, which is to represent the people of the future in today's political and legal structures. The legitimacy of this commission would be achieved through a selection method based on on elections, but rather on a kind of "draft" similar to the mechanism used when forming a jury. The guardians' main functions would be to protect the interests and the needs of the future generations by revising or putting a veto on the laws that threaten them. The guardians would be given a year-long preparation course. During their term they would be supported by a team of experts. Decisions of the super-jury would not be disputable by the courts, including the European Court of Human Rights. Implementation of this project would make the discussion on the consequences of today's decisions in political discourse more lively and would help us to fulfill the potential of our power over the future. Without including future generations into modern political processes, no basic justice can be reached, and no proper democratic procedure can be completed.