Several jurisdictions outside of Europe have also enshrined animal sentience as a legal principle, including the Australian Capital Territory in 2019, and New Zealand and the Canadian Province of Quebec in 2015. Those legal systems include Austria, Germany, Switzerland, Belgium, and, most recently, France and Portugal. Animal sentience code#The reform of the legal regime for animals in the Spanish Civil Code follows the lines marked by other nearby legal systems, which have modified their Civil Codes to adapt them to the greater social sensitivity towards animals nowadays, and also to recognize their quality as living beings endowed with sensibility. The bill observes that - along with the European Union and numerous existing regulations in Spanish law - several European countries have changed their legal codes to formally recognize animal sentience: The bill text frames the proposed reform by noting it would bring Spain’s Civil Code into line with contemporary thinking on animals, as well as nearby legal systems. Recognition of Animal Sentience in Other Legal Systems In addition to enshrining animal sentience within the Civil Code generally, the bill would also amend Spain’s Mortgage Law and Civil Procedure Law in ways consistent with the recognition that animals are different from other forms of property. This meant the bill had to be reintroduced.Įchoing the optimism of the Animal Justice and Defense Observatory, La Vanguardia reports “the broad consensus achieved in the previous legislature makes us foresee that the proposal now presented. This was set to happen when a similar measure was unanimously approved in 2017, but that bill was never finalized due to the dissolution of Parliament in 2019. However, the government failed to likewise amend the Civil Code. After almost 6 years of intense work, meetings, advice and proposals, the Observatory celebrates that the approval of this consideration has achieved such a broad consensus, and trusts that, this time, the parliamentary procedure can be completed so that this proposition is finally turned into law.Īs explained in the text of the bill, Spain updated its Penal Code in 2003 to differentiate damage to companion animals from damage to objects, with this reform being further developed in 2015. is the first step in the parliamentary processing of this important reform that, once completed, will make the Spanish Legal System adapt both to the social reality of the moment and to the legislation of other countries in our environment. The taking into consideration of this bill. 1 The nonprofit Observatorio Justicia y Defensa Animal (Animal Justice and Defense Observatory), which launched the #AnimalesNoSonCosas (Animals Are Not Things) campaign in 2015, notes: While there are additional steps before the bill is finalized, Spanish advocates are optimistic it will be adopted based on the overwhelming support it received in parliament. This approval is the first step toward updating animals’ legal status in the Spanish Civil Code - among other reforms consistent with that change. On April 18, 2021, the Spanish Parliament approved consideration of a bill that would amend the country’s Civil Code to recognize animals are “living beings endowed with sentience” rather than “things,” specifically “moveable property.”
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |