Rights of Nature – A Global Legal Revolution in Progress 3700-ISSC-RN-MON
The recognition of Rights of Nature (RoN) is one of the most significant legal, ecological, and societal movements in the last two decades. The concept of giving legal subjectivity to nature has existed in Western legal science for over half a century. Christopher Stone’s text “Should Trees Have Standing?”(1972) remains an important reference point. The author proposed the recognition of nature as a legal entity whose interests would be represented by guardians, in particular, given the possibility of receiving compensation directly on behalf of and for the benefit of nature. In recent years, the reflection around the issues of legal recognition of the subjectivity of nature is vibrant. It includes extensive legal-comparative studies and analyses of individual case studies, often conducted within different research approaches.
The growing trend is also reflected in numbers—in June 2021, 409 initiatives were recognizing the legal subjectivity of nature in 39 countries on all continents except Antarctica, which, according to some authors, proves that giving legal subjectivity to nature is a significant, global, and lasting trend towards improving the relationship between humans and nature (Alex Putzer et al, "Putting the rights of nature on the map. A quantitative analysis of rights of nature initiatives across the world,"). As of May 2025, there are over 569 legal initiatives and new examples can be seen every month (e.g. January 2025 Mount Taranaki Aoteaora New Zealand, February 2025 River Ouse in UK, March 2025 new bill to recognize legal rights of all water bodies in the New York State, April 2025 proposal of the recognition of the Oder River as a legal person in Poland).
The importance of RoN is also visible in international environmental awards (e.g., the Goldman Environmental Prize was awarded in 2024 to Teresa Vincente for the recognition of Mar Menor Lagoon in Spain as a legal person; in 2025, the same prize was awarded to Mari Luz Canaquiri Murayari for the recognition of the legal rights for the Marañón River in Peru).
During the course, participants will explore RoN initiatives and discuss the movement's growing importance from several perspectives (including historical, legal, political, societal, Indigenous studies, and eco-feminist).
Koordynatorzy przedmiotu
Efekty kształcenia
The graduate knows and understands the growing role of the Rights of Nature in Europe and beyond and can study this movement from an interdisciplinary perspective (K_W02; K_W06)
The graduate can apply their knowledge, analyze, and interpret the Rights of Nature movement as one of the most significant responses to the current ecological and societal crisis (K_U04), including participating in academic debates and preparing oral or written presentations about recent RoN initiatives from different perspectives (K_U05).
The graduate is ready to find creative solutions to intellectual and practical environmental protection problems based on interdisciplinary social sciences and humanities research. (K_K01)
Kryteria oceniania
Active participation in class discussions, final written assignment, or presentation focused on a theoretical or practical problem related to RoN implementation.
Literatura
Stone, Christopher D. 1972. “Should Trees Have Standing - Towards Legal Rights for Natural Objects.” Southern California Law Review 45: 450–501.
———. 2010. Should Trees Have Standing? Law, Morality, and the Environment. 3rd ed. New York, N.Y: Oxford University Press.
Corrigan, Daniel P., and Markku Oksanen, eds. 2021. Rights of Nature: A Re-Examination. Routledge Explorations in Environmental Studies. London New York: Routledge, Taylor & Francis Group
Christopher Rodgers, "A New Approach to Protecting Ecosystems: The Te Awa Tupua (Whanganui River Claims Settlement) Act 2017," Environmental Law Review 19, no. 4 (December 2017): 266-79, https://doi.org/10.1177/1461452917744909; Jacinta Ruru, "Indigenous Ancestors: Recognizing Legal Personality of Nature as a Reconciliation Strategy for Connective Sustainable Governance," in The Cambridge Handbook of Environmental Justice and Sustainable Development, ed. Sumudu A. Atapattu, Carmen G. Gonzalez, and Sara L. Seck, 1st ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2021), 183-95, https://doi.org/10.1017/9781108555791.015; Katherine Sanders, "'Beyond Human Ownership'? Property, Power and Legal Personality for Nature in Aotearoa New Zealand," Journal of Environmental Law, November 20, 2017, https://doi.org/10.1093/jel/eqx029; Miriama Cribb, Elizabeth Macpherson, and Axel Borchgrevink, "Beyond Legal Personhood for the Whanganui River: Collaboration and Pluralism in Implementing the Te Awa Tupua Act," The International Journal of Human Rights, February 16, 2024, 1-24, https://doi.org/10.1080/13642987.2024.2314532.
Cárdenas and Turp, A Legal Personality for the St. Lawrence River and other Rivers of the World.
European Economic and Social Committee. et al, Towards an EU Charter of the Fundamental Rights of Nature: Study. (LU: Publications Office, 2020), https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2864/25113
Ludwig Krämer, "Rights of Nature in Europe: The Spanish Lagoon Mar Menor Becomes a Legal Person," Infocommunications Journal, no. 1/2 (January 2023): 5–23, https://doi.org/10.1163/18760104-20010003
Rachel Killean, Jérémie Gilbert, and Peter Doran, "Rights of Nature on the Island of Ireland: Origins, Drivers, and Implications for Future Rights of Nature Movements," Transnational Environmental Law 13, no. 1 (March 2024): 35–60, https://doi.org/10.1017/S2047102523000201
César Rodríguez-Garavito (ed.) More Than Human Rights. An Ecology of Law, Thought and Narrative for Earthly Flourishing, New York 2024, available online.
Parsons, Meg, Karen Fisher, and Roa Petra Crease. 2021. Decolonising Blue Spaces in the Anthropocene: Freshwater Management in Aotearoa New Zealand. Cham: Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-61071-5
Stilt, Kristen. 2020. “Rights of Nature, Rights of Animals.” SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3746727
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