Legal personhood and animals

Visa Kurki

Chapter 9 in Research Handbook on Animal Law and Animal Rights, 2025, pp 178-187 from Edward Elgar Publishing

Abstract: This chapter explains the concept of legal personhood and its relevance to animal law. According to the prevalent Orthodox View of legal personhood, one cannot hold legal rights without being a legal person. However, recent theoretical developments propose a more nuanced understanding. The chapter contrasts the formal approach, represented by the Orthodox View, with a substantive approach to legal personhood. A substantive approach offers a more flexible classification, allowing that animals may already hold certain legal rights even if they are not fully recognized as legal persons. The entry presents these approaches and then discusses the implications of these theories for animal law.

Keywords: Legal personhood; Legal subject; Animal law; Legal theory (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
ISBN: 9781035324873
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