Recognition of nature as a subject of rights in Colombia: some challenges of its insertion in the legal system

RECONOCIMIENTO DE LA NATURALEZA COMO SUJETO DE DERECHOS EN COLOMBIA: ALGUNOS RETOS DE SU INSERCIÓN EN EL SISTEMA JURÍDICO

From the notion of good living o «Sumak Kawsay.» the conception of nature has been rethought to understand it as a subject of rights with intrinsic attributes that required its protection. This vision has managed to introduce in the legal systems with reforms to the constitution or laws as in the cases of Ecuador and Bolivia or through judgments, as in the Colombian case. The paper gives a vision of the rights of the nature and how these have been incorporated in Colombia. After this, explain challenges of their incorporation in the legal system, related to the dichotomy of nature as a subject and object, the lack of specification of the rights, the atomization of the recognition, and the legal representation. Finally, a proposal is made for a possible solution to these challenges.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.21017/Rev.Repub.2022.v33.a126