Social Systems, Constitutions and Non-Human Animals
Guilherme de Azevedo
The research seeks to examine, within contemporary society, the socio‑legal conditions underpinning the formation of Animal Law, drawing on social systems theory as the analytical framework for understanding the processes through which legal meanings are constructed and attributed to non‑human animals.”
People
Researcher
Dr Guilherme de Azevedo
Background
The development of the present project emerged from debates generated within a previous research initiative entitled ‘Legal Theory and Social Differentiation in Latin America’, funded by CNPq. Within that context, attention was dedicated to examining the function of law in processes of inclusion and exclusion, as well as its contribution to dynamics of equality and inequality within social systems, particularly in processes driven by the constitutionalisation of fundamental rights. As a result of these studies, the project ‘Social Systems, Constitutions and Non-Human Animals: The Systemic-Cultural Foundations for the Construction of Animal Law Theory’ gradually took shape.
The research is conceived with the purpose of developing a Sociology of Animal Law, integrating discussions in Constitutional Law, Human Rights, Environmental Law, and Health Law. Animal Law (re)problematises questions related to inclusion and exclusion, inequality, property rights, and the criteria for the moral, political, and legal consideration of sentient animals. Accordingly, the central problem addressed by the project may be formulated as follows: what sociological conditions enable the development of a theory of law that adopts sentience as a basis for recognising non-human animals as persons?
In its initial stage, the project engages with themes in constitutional sociology, moral philosophy, and political theory. These discussions have increasingly reached constitutional courts around the world and, in the Brazilian context, have already been the subject of decisions by the Supreme Federal Court, particularly in connection with debates on climate change and the limits of human rights.
Aims/Objectives
The general aim of this research is to examine the construction of Animal Law as a ‘new field of law’, identifying the sociological conditions that enable the development of legal dogmatics in a context marked by epistemological speciesism. Within this framework, the project pursues the following specific objectives:
I) To analyse how the constitutional recognition of non-human animals has evolved in Europe and Latin America, identifying the social actors involved in the constitutionalisation of Animal Law, including social movements, political parties, and courts.
II) To investigate the dynamics of inclusion and exclusion of non-human animals within social systems, distinguishing the legal, economic, political, religious, scientific, and ethical forms shaped by pressures linked to the equality/inequality distinction.
III) To systematise debates in Animal Law Theory, clarifying how the person/thing distinction generates both resistances and opportunities for recognising the rights of non-human animals, and assessing the implications of this distinction for legal actions and for the status of animals in Civil Law.
IV) To examine the legal semantics of cruelty and animal suffering, identifying the decision-making cultures emerging in legislative and judicial responses to the issue and evaluating the constraints imposed by speciesism on these decisions.
V) To collaborate with NGOs and State bodies in designing systemic interventions in public policies concerning non-human animals, with a local and regional focus, and considering potential intersections with health rights and environmental sustainability.
Methods
Given the highly interdisciplinary nature of the topic, the methodology is grounded in theoretical frameworks situated within the Sociology and Theory of Law. The approach is structured as follows:
I) Niklas Luhmann’s social systems theory is employed to analyse processes of inclusion and exclusion, as well as the correlations between organisation and decision-making within society.
II) The constitutionalisation of Animal Law is examined through Chris Thornhill’s Sociology of Constitutions, with particular attention to the sociological formation of legitimacy and the notions of social and normative integration.
III) Concepts such as culture, welfare, suffering, and trauma are initially problematised through Jeffrey Alexander’s Cultural Sociology.
IV) Issues related to the legal dogmatics of Animal Law are analysed through a sociologically oriented Theory of Law, drawing on authors beyond the tradition of social systems theory.
Outcomes
Publications:
DE AZEVEDO, GUILHERME. Law, Function and Society: Luhmannian Distinctions for a Research Agenda in Sociology of Law. In: FONSECA, Gabriel Ferreira da; AMATO, Lucas Fucci; BARROS, Marco Antonio Loschiavo Leme de. (Org.). Contemporary socio-legal studies: empirical and global perspectives.. 1ed.São Paulo: Faculdade de Direito, Universidade de São Paulo, 2023, v. , p. 1-.
Presentations
AZEVEDO, Guilherme de. Direito e formas da desigualdade: o problema do conceito de pessoa e a construção do sentido jurídico de racismo e especismo. 2024.
AZEVEDO, Guilherme de. Cultura Jurídica e Animais Não-humanos: existe um Direito Animal?. 2024. (Apresentação de Trabalho/Conferência ou palestra).
DE AZEVEDO, GUILHERME. Por uma Sociologia do Direito Animal. 2023. (Apresentação de Trabalho/Simpósio).
DE AZEVEDO, GUILHERME; SHELL, F. . Simpósio Internacional: Ética Animal em Ação. 2022. (Apresentação de Trabalho/Simpósio).
Research Impact
This research project seeks to generate technical and scientific impact in two main areas.
I) Academic and Scientific: by contributing to the development of Animal Law in Brazil through the refinement of key legal concepts, including animal suffering, sentience and the person/thing distinction, cultural limits and cruelty, animal welfare and economic development, and the relationship between speciesism and legal inequality.
II) Public Policy and Regulation: by working with the NGO Princípio Animal to support legal strategies for the judicialisation of Animal Law issues (such as bans on rodeos and live‑animal transport), and by assisting in the formulation of legislative proposals at local and national levels. These initiatives include policies on prohibiting animal‑drawn transport, strengthening law‑enforcement and inspection bodies, and developing educational materials for ethical and legal literacy on Animal Law within schools and public institutions.”
Get Involved
If you would like to learn more about the project and its outcomes, please contact Dr Guilherme de Azevedo.