Animals and the Constitution: Towards Sentience-Based Constitutionalism

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John Olusegun Adenitire (Senior Lecturer in Law, Senior Lecturer in Law, Queen Mary University School of Law) Raffael Fasel (Assistant Professor in Public Law, Assistant Professor in Public Law, University of Cambridge)

Animals and the Constitution

Towards Sentience-Based Constitutionalism

John Olusegun Adenitire (Senior Lecturer in Law, Senior Lecturer in Law, Queen Mary University School of Law), Raffael Fasel (Assistant Professor in Public Law, Assistant Professor in Public Law, University of Cambridge)

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English

Oxford University Press
22 July 2025

Animals & society; Jurisprudence & philosophy of law; Constitutional & administrative law

Series: Oxford Constitutional Theory

ConstitutionalismDLthe idea that constitutions should limit and direct government powerDLhas emerged as the global standard for the exercise of public authority. Its appeal lies in the simple idea that constitutions should secure governance in the interests of the governed. Yet, its popularity has obscured a significant problem: constitutions are centred on the interests of rational human beings, neglecting those who lack such capacitiesDLmost notably, non-human animals.

Animals and the Constitution breaks new ground by challenging the human-centredness of current constitutional theory and practices. It pioneers a more capacious account of constitutionalismDLsentience-based constitutionalismDLwhich is grounded in respect for the interests of all governed sentient beings. The book demonstrates how this account can be implemented in modern constitutions by rethinking four key principles of constitutionalism: fundamental rights, proportionality, rule of law, and democracy. To illustrate how these principles can be reimagined to protect the interests of both humans and animals, the book draws on and examines numerous real-world examples, ranging from judicial recognitions of wild animal rights in Ecuador, to direct democratic votes on primate rights in Switzerland, to entire proposed bills of rights for animals in Finland.

A unique combination of constitutional theory, animal ethics, and comparative constitutional law, this book offers a practical blueprint for constitutions to address the moral and legal status of sentient beings.

By: John Olusegun Adenitire (Senior Lecturer in Law Senior Lecturer in Law Queen Mary University School of Law), Raffael Fasel (Assistant Professor in Public Law, Assistant Professor in Public Law, University of Cambridge)
Imprint: Oxford University Press
Country of Publication: United Kingdom
Dimensions: Height: 240mm, Width: 164mm, Spine: 20mm
Weight: 526g
ISBN: 9780198910503
ISBN 10: 0198910509
Series: Oxford Constitutional Theory
Pages: 256
Publication Date: 22 July 2025
Audience: College/higher education , Further / Higher Education
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Active

Dr John Olusegun Adenitire is a Senior Lecturer at Queen Mary, University of London, School of Law and a Co-Director of the Forum on Decentering the Human, an inter-disciplinary research centre. He completed his PhD in Law at Fitzwilliam College, University of Cambridge. He has held visiting research fellowships at Yale, Oxford, New York University, and Fordham University. He has published extensively on constitutional rights, discrimination law and theory, and animal rights. He teaches animal rights law, public law, legal philosophy and EU law at Queen Mary. Dr Raffael Fasel is Assistant Professor in Public Law at the University of Cambridge and a Fellow of Jesus College. At Cambridge, he completed his PhD thesis on human and animal rights, which was awarded a Yorke Prize in 2020. He co-founded the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law and lectures on Europe's first Animal Rights Law course, which he co-created. He has published widely in animal rights law, constitutional law, and constitutional theory.