In 2008, Ecuador recognized rights of nature (RoN) in its Constitution. Since then, RoN have been relied upon in judicial decisions 55 times in Ecuador. Following years of ad hoc treatment of RoN by Ecuador's government and courts, its Constitutional Court selected various cases to establish binding jurisprudence in respect of RoN. In doing so, the Constitutional Court and various provincial courts in Ecuador have clarified the content of RoN, including specific criteria for determining RoN violations and the relationship between RoN and other constitutional rights, including community and economic rights related to development. Moreover, the courts are imposing sanctions on RoN violators, including the state and powerful commercial sectors. This article shows how Ecuadorian court decisions are changing RoN from a vague, abstract concept into a set of specific standards for how to balance RoN with various human rights and existing environmental law in order to implement sustainable development in an integrated and holistic manner that does not sacrifice ecosystem functioning. In doing so, the article contributes to the emerging literature on how new environmental law norms are constructed as they are put into practice, as well as the important role that judges play as norm entrepreneurs.

2008 年，厄瓜多尔在其宪法中承认自然权 (RoN)。自那时起，厄瓜多尔的司法判决已 55 次依赖 RoN。厄瓜多尔政府和法院对 RoN 进行多年的临时处理后，其宪法法院选择了各种案件来建立有关 RoN 的具有约束力的判例。在此过程中，厄瓜多尔宪法法院和各省法院明确了 RoN 的内容，包括确定 RoN 违法行为的具体标准以及 RoN 与其他宪法权利（包括与发展相关的社区和经济权利）之间的关系。此外，法院正在对 RoN 违规者实施制裁，包括国家和强大的商业部门。本文展示了厄瓜多尔法院的判决如何将 RoN 从模糊的、将抽象概念转化为一套具体标准，以平衡 RoN 与各种人权和现有环境法的关系，以便在不牺牲生态系统功能的情况下以综合和整体的方式实施可持续发展。在此过程中，本文为有关如何构建新的环境法规范并付诸实践以及法官作为规范制定者所发挥的重要作用的新兴文献做出了贡献。