Derechos de la naturaleza y derechos a la naturaleza: tendencias emergentes en el derecho internacional

Abstract

Since the 2000s, there has been a growing recognition of the rights of nature at the domestic level. While the national examples on the rights of nature are increasing in number, the legal developments at the international level are few and far between. Domestic laws and jurisdictions are pushing to transform nature from an ‘object’ of regulation to an actor in itself endowed with legal personality. This increasing practice has influenced the emergence of a new approach in international law which considers that nature should be protected in its own right. Taking a comparative law approach, the paper examines the main features and limits of the recognition of the rights of nature in some domestic jurisdictions focusing on three key features, namely the legal personality of nature, the appointment of guardians and the legal standing before national courts. The second part focuses on the international dimension of the rights of nature analysing the synergies and possible tensions between the rights of nature and the right to nature, namely the human right to a healthy environment, taking into account some international instruments and the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights.