Sea turtles are among the most vulnerable wild animals worldwide. However, they receive very different kinds of protection according to the jurisdiction concerned. In many jurisdictions, they are protected only indirectly, through environmental and conservation legislation protecting habitats, biodiversity, and endangered species. In Panama, the legal approach has taken a more revolutionary turn. Since 2023, sea turtles are recognised in national legislation as subjects of legal rights, including the right to life, and the right to migrate freely in a healthy environment, protected against pollution and climate-related harm.

This recognition raises fundamental questions. What does it mean, in practice, to grant rights to a wild animal species? How do such rights relate to existing frameworks of environmental protection, which traditionally focus on ecosystems, sustainability, and species rather than on individual animals? And what happens when the protection of habitats and the protection of individual animals point in different directions?

These questions highlight a broader and increasingly pressing issue: the relationship - and at times the tension - between environmental protection and protection of individual animals. While environmental law often operates at the level of ecosystems, populations, and long-term ecological balances, animal law typically centres on sentience, individual interests, and moral status. The growing recognition of animal interests within environmental contexts challenges established legal categories and invites a rethinking of how these fields interact.

We will explore these and related questions during the Summer School in Animal Law, Rights and Representation at the University of Antwerp. Participants will receive a comprehensive introduction to animal law as a legal discipline, engage with different theories of animal rights, and critically examine emerging models of legal representation for animals. The programme also includes a (speed) moot court, in which participants will argue a case involving animal interests before a professional jury.

The Summer School is organised by Dr Eva Bernet Kempers, (postdoctoral researcher in Animal Law at the University of Antwerp and Junior Research Associate at the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law), who teaches the sessions together with several international guest lecturers, among which Dr Butler and Dr Fasel of the Cambridge Centre for Animal Rights Law. See the 'programme' for more information. Find out more.