The Department of Foundations of Law in the Faculty of Law cordially invites you to the next meeting of our Maastricht Foundations of Law Colloquia. On 19 June our speaker is Lukasz Dziedzic. 

Abstract:
Over the last roughly 20 years, legal personhood has been extended to rivers, glaciers, mountain ranges and whole ecosystems in order to protect natural entities and prevent their degradation by means of human activities. Several authors approaching the topic from a legal-theoretical perspective, especially arguing from a perspective of analytical jurisprudence, have been critical of such developments based on conceptual reasons. This paper will critically map the debate and demonstrate that given the conceptual flexibility of legal personhood the essential debates are rather not located at the legal-conceptual level but in assessing the normative reasons for why legal personhood ought to be extended to natural entities. Legal personhood is flexible enough to accommodate humans, natural entities and hybrids and serves as a point of reference in the legal system to attribute rights and/or obligations.

The colloquium’s format is pre-read. Those attending are expected to have read the text in advance. The draft will be circulated in advance.

Convenors:
Lukasz Dziedzic
Sebastian Reyes Molina
Roland Pierik

The colloquia will take place physically and online. The Zoom link for the online sessions will be distributed later.