Legal Personality of the Environment, part I

In this two-part podcast, we address the concept of Legal Personality of the Environment. This original idea was brought by Christopher Stone in Should Trees Have Standing?, which was published in the 1970s. Nowadays, granting legal personality to the environment is quite appealing for those who wish to protect natural resources for future generations.   In this first episode, we meet with Professor Jacinta Ruru, a Māori legal scholar from the Otago University in New Zealand, to discuss the doctrine and its application in New Zealand. More specifically, we discuss the Te Urewera Act, a legislation that grants legal personality to a former national park.   We discuss the implications of granting legal personality to the environment and stress that this approach is a way to incorporate Māori world views within New Zealand law.   This two-part podcast is by Raphaël Grenier-Benoit and Boris Kozulin, Executive Editor and Senior Editor for volume 63 of the McGill Law Journal.   Produced by Alexis Hudon and Emma Noradounkian, Podcast Editors for volumes 62 and 63 of the McGill Law Journal.