UDTR — Radar mondial des droits de la Nature

The Mar Menor lagoon and the rise of rights of nature in Europe: A critical analysis of a transformative legal paradigm

Identification

Clé publique

doi:10.1016/j.esg.2026.100336

Auteurs

Francisco Pérez-Crespo Vinader · Gabriela Cuadrado-Quesada · Susanne Schmeier

Année déclarée

2026

Langue déclarée

en · und

Type source

article

Première détection

2026-11-09T19:04:47.870138+00:00

Dernière observation des métadonnées

2026-11-10T16:58:51.489252+00:00

Dernière vérification HTTP

Non effectuée

Institutions déclarées par la source

IHE Delft Institute for Water Education · IHE Delft, Institute for Water Education, Department of Water Governance, Westvest 7, 2611 AX, Delft, the Netherlands · Universidad Pontificia Comillas · Universidad Pontificia Comillas, Department of Public Law, Calle Alberto Aguilera 23, 28015, Madrid, Spain; Corresponding author.

Pays d’affiliation déclarés

ES · NL

Résumé documentaire — langue originale

The recognition of the Mar Menor as a subject of rights under Spanish Law 19/2022 marked the first instance in Europe of granting legal personhood to an ecosystem. This article provides a critique of this unprecedented measure by examining its doctrinal, institutional, and socioecological dimensions. Doctrinally, the Spanish Constitutional Court upheld the constitutionality of the law in Judgment 142/2024, describing it as a “moderate ecocentrism” consistent with Articles 10.1 and 45.2 of the Constitution. This interpretation reframes environmental protection as a dynamic constitutional value and situates personhood within the framework of ecological constitutionalism. Institutionally, however, significant challenges persist: the law did not clarify whether the lagoon constitutes a public or private legal entity, the guardianship structure has faced legitimacy concerns, and the creation of overlapping institutions such as the Consejo del Mar Menor risks undermining its impact.Empirical data was collected through participant observation, a survey and semi-structured interviews. The findings highlight how residents, university professors, public officials, and environmental lawyers experienced ecological collapse as personal trauma and embraced personhood as either a form of relief, a pragmatic instrument, or a paradigm shift. Yet, the Spanish debate has largely neglected the Indigenous and Global South origins and contemporary articulations of Rights of Nature, limiting its pedagogical and legitimating potential. The article situates the Mar Menor within global Rights of Nature debates and reflects on its implications for European and particularly Spanish environmental law and water governance.

Identifiants

OPENALEX

W7161305117

DOI

10.1016/j.esg.2026.100336 · 10.2139/ssrn.5928672

ISSN

2589-8116

OPENAIRE

doi_________::240290c84ab89411567372c8ec224d54 · doi_________::b414ee180622ac19de026f00470eed20

Repères documentaires

Famille documentaire

Doctrine

Types déclarés par les sources

Article · article

Entités naturelles mentionnées

Mer · Lagune · Écosystème

Les mentions d’entités ne constituent pas une preuve de reconnaissance juridique. La juridiction étudiée est distincte du pays d’affiliation des auteurs.

Sources

DOAJ · Document 1 · Document 2

OpenAIRE · Document 1 · Document 2

OpenAlex · Document 1 · Document 2

• DOI · https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esg.2026.100336
• DOI · https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.5928672
• Document · http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589811626000261
• OpenAlex · https://openalex.org/W7161305117

Relations bibliographiques documentées

Références et liens déclarés par les sources ; ils ne constituent pas une preuve juridique ni une qualification UGLC. Affichage limité à 20 références sortantes.

• The Rights of Nature: Reconsidered · CITES
• The rights of nature in Ecuador: the making of an idea · CITES
• openalex:w2057675048 · CITES
• SI FUERA SOLO UNA CUESTIÓN DE FE… — UNA CRÍTICA SOBRE EL SENTIDO Y LA UTILIDAD DEL RECONOCIMIENTO DE DERECHOS A LA NATURALEZA (EN LA CONSTITUCIÓN DEL ECUADOR) · CITES
• Creating legal rights for rivers: Lessons from Australia, New Zealand, and India · CITES
• Rights of Nature: Rivers That Can Stand in Court · CITES
• openalex:w2897386646 · CITES
• La naturaleza como sujeto de derechos en el constitucionalismo democrático · CITES
• openalex:w3008386605 · CITES
• openalex:w3082301886 · CITES
• Stop Burying the Lede: The Essential Role of Indigenous Law(s) in Creating Rights of Nature · CITES
• Removing the Veil from the ‘Rights of Nature’: The Dichotomy between First Nations Customary Rights and Environmental Legal Personhood · CITES
• De la justicia climática a la justicia ecológica: los derechos de la naturaleza · CITES
• Where ordinary laws fall short: ‘riverine rights’ and constitutionalism · CITES
• Derechos de la naturaleza y personalidad jurídica de los ecosistemas: nuevo paradigma de protección medioambiental · CITES
• Responding to anthropocentrism with anthropocentrism: the biopolitics of environmental personhood · CITES
• Los derechos de la naturaleza y la ciudadanía: el caso del Mar Menor · CITES
• Un intento de fundamentar derechos de los no-humanos (derechos de la naturaleza) a partir del desarrollo sostenible · CITES
• openalex:w4362692146 · CITES
• Revisiting groundwater law through the lenses of earth system law and rights of nature · CITES

1 références entrantes au sein du corpus détecté

Statut documentaire

Pertinence à examiner

Bibliothèque

Cette identité n’est pas encore intégrée à la Bibliothèque juridique.