https://www.positive.news/society/for-the-love-of-a-river/
"
The environmentalist and barrister Paul Powlesland made history this summer
when he became the first member of a UK jury to swear an oath on river water.
Powlesland, the co-founder of Lawyers for Nature, explains why he considers the
River Roding to be sacred
“I swear by…” What? The options for members of a UK jury are fairly standard:
‘by Almighty God’, ‘by Allah’, ‘by Waheguru’, or ‘on the Gita’. Paul Powlesland
chose none of these when he was called to jury service in July. Instead, the
38-year-old barrister opted for the River Roding, “from her source in Molehill
Green” to her “confluence with the Thames”.
Powlesland admits that the judge was a “little perplexed” at first, but, after
some discussion, he let the unorthodox oath slide. This was partly because
Powlesland also declared the juror’s secular ‘affirmation’ (“to make sure the
legal boxes were ticked”), but mostly because the judge believed the sincerity
of the river lover’s position.
“I explained that I believe the river to be sacred, but also I could
demonstrate that this wasn’t just something I was saying but that I do care for
the river constantly in my spare time,” says Powlesland."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
