Legal Personhood of Animals (I): The case for the legal personhood of companion animals. Synthesis of doctrinal developments.

Authors

  • Cédric Riot Cédric Riot Maître de conférences en droit privé et sciences criminelles Université de Toulon - Faculté de Droit, Aix Marseille Univ, Univ Pau & Pays Adour, CNRS, DICE, CDPC Jean-Claude Escarras, Toulon, France

Abstract

Law 2015-177 of February 16, 2015, modifying the French Civil Code, defined animals as « living beings doted with sensibility », which marked an evolution in French Law. Yet neither attributed legal personhood nor provided with a new legal regime, animals remain, except where special laws protect them, covered by the regime of things.

The objective of the March 29, 2018 Seminar was twofold:

  • To demonstrate that companion animals are capable of being granted legal personhood.
  • To recommend, concomitantly, the recognition of the legal category of (natural) non-human person and the creation of a special regime attached to it.

Keywords

legal personhood, companion animals, legal status, (natural) non-human person, doctrine, legal status of the companion animal, legal regime, object or subject of rights, legislative proposal,

Author Biography

Cédric Riot, Cédric Riot Maître de conférences en droit privé et sciences criminelles Université de Toulon - Faculté de Droit, Aix Marseille Univ, Univ Pau & Pays Adour, CNRS, DICE, CDPC Jean-Claude Escarras, Toulon, France

Docteur en droit

Maître de conférences en droit privé et sciences criminelles

DOI

https://doi.org/10.5565/rev/da.341

Published

2018-05-01

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Copyright (c) 2018 Cédric Riot

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.