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Animals and legal personality
- a thread
(Yes, Brexit and Trump and Covid, but sometimes other law and policy issues are worth considering too...)
I will add to this thread throughout the day
1.
- a thread
(Yes, Brexit and Trump and Covid, but sometimes other law and policy issues are worth considering too...)
I will add to this thread throughout the day
1.
At @FT I have done this post - please click and read if you can: https://www.ft.com/content/b6f0b022-2c70-42c3-b850-ab6b48841fcf
In this thread I am going to expand on the arguments and points I make there, without the constraint of a word-count and being able to link to more materials
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In this thread I am going to expand on the arguments and points I make there, without the constraint of a word-count and being able to link to more materials
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To begin: what is "legal personality"?
First, it is not saying a thing is a human
Instead, a human is just one of many things recognised by law as having personality
The class of legal persons comprises both natural persons (ie, humans) and artificial persons
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First, it is not saying a thing is a human
Instead, a human is just one of many things recognised by law as having personality
The class of legal persons comprises both natural persons (ie, humans) and artificial persons
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In essence: to have legal personality means two things - separate standing before a court, and capacity of having rights and/or liabilities
Some legal persons have full legal capacity - and can do most things a human can do
But some legal persons have v limited capacity
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Some legal persons have full legal capacity - and can do most things a human can do
But some legal persons have v limited capacity
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A legal person has whatever rights or liabilities the law provides
A huge area of law - the doctrine of 'ultra vires' - is about what legal persons can and cannot do
So to say a thing should have legal personality is not to say it should have all the rights of a human
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A huge area of law - the doctrine of 'ultra vires' - is about what legal persons can and cannot do
So to say a thing should have legal personality is not to say it should have all the rights of a human
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Therefore to say a thing should have legal personality is to say: (1) its distinct existence should be recognised at law; (2) it has standing to be heard in a court; (3) it has rights (and/or liabilities) conferred by law; and (4) those rights (or liabilities) can be enforced
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