Should Trees Have Standing? Toward Legal Rights for Natural Objects
Author(s)
Stone, Christopher D.
Abstract
In the past, the child was considered less than a person from a legal perspective, but legal rights for children are now recognized and are, in fact, expanding. Legal rights have similarly been bestowed at different times upon a number of different groups, including prisoners, aliens and women. The legal system has even bestowed rights on inanimate entities such as trusts, corporations, joint ventures, etc. At one time, bestowing such rights on these groups was unthinkable; until rights are actually bestowed, the “rightless” are considered mere things for our use. The time has come to bestow rights on “natural objects” in the environment, including forests, oceans, rivers, etc., as well as on the natural environment as a whole. This is not to say, however, that the environment should have the same rights as those conferred on humans, or that each environmental entity should have the same rights as every other. There are two sides to the discussion about granting rights: the legal-operational aspect, and the psychic and socio-psychic aspect.
