Studia Iuridica Lublinensia vol. XXIX, 2, 2020 DOI: 10.17951/sil.2020.29.2.11-23 Articles Jerzy Bieluk University in Bialystok, Poland orCID: 0000-0002-9949-472X bieluk@uwb.edu.pl River as a Legal Person Rzeka jako osoba prawna SuMMAry The concepts of recognizing elements of nature as having legal personality have been appear- ing for many years as proposals for a new approach to ecology. Recent years have brought specifc solutions in this regard. Attempts to recognize rivers (but not only rivers) as separate legal entities can be found in various places around the world. This is not a common trend, only a few such cases can be identifed in the applicable legislation. the article is devoted to the analysis of the best- -known examples of this type of activity. in 2017, the legal system of new zealand recognized the whanganui River as a legal person. talks are ongoing about further solutions of this kind. apart from environmental protection reasons, the basic motives for this type of solution are cultural con- siderations – connected with maori beliefs and values. in the legal systems of india and colombia, the courts have attempted to recognize the rivers (Ganges and yamuna in india, the atrata River, and the entire Amazon ecosystem) as legal persons. The motives for this type of activity were primarily ecological – protecting priceless parts of nature from destruction. Keywords: environmental protection; legal personality; river as a legal person; ecology InTroDuCTIon The concepts of recognizing elements of nature as having legal personality have been appearing for many years as proposals for a new approach to ecology. recent years have brought specifc solutions in this regard. attempts to recognize rivers (but not only rivers) as separate legal entities can be found in various places around the world. this is not a common trend, only a few such cases can be identifed in the applicable legislation. however, this is a quite newsworthy matter – the slogan reading “A river becomes a legal entity” arouses even the interest of non-lawyers. at the same time, it is a very interesting legal structure, but it also requires looking Pobrane z czasopisma Studia Iuridica Lublinensia http://studiaiuridica.umcs.pl Data: 19/02/2022 12:36:33 UMCS