In a European First, Landmark Verdict Upholds Constitutionality of Mar Menor’s Legal Rights

On November 20, 2024, Spain’s Constitutional Court issued a pivotal ruling upholding the constitutionality of Law 19/2022, which grants legal personhood to the Mar Menor lagoon and its surrounding basin. This decision—the first in the European Union to establish Rights of Nature at the constitutional level—is a historic milestone for Earth law in Europe.