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Decoding the Rights of Companies in the Technocene : an Introduction

Gill-Pedro, Eduardo LU and Salminen, Jaakko LU orcid (2025) In Transnational Legal Theory
Abstract
This special issue examines the role of companies as rights-bearing actors in shaping planetary change. While anthropogenic climate change is commonly framed as the work of humanity, vast disparities in power mean that corporate entities have a disproportionate influence over emissions, political decision-making, and the global flow of biophysical resources. These asymmetries reshape not only climate but also Earth’s physical systems, prompting a reconsideration of the Anthropocene as a “Technocene,” driven by technological agency embodied in the modern company. Despite their autonomy, resources, and transformative capacity, companies remain underexamined in legal theory, often subsumed under “personhood” or treated as legal fictions.... (More)
This special issue examines the role of companies as rights-bearing actors in shaping planetary change. While anthropogenic climate change is commonly framed as the work of humanity, vast disparities in power mean that corporate entities have a disproportionate influence over emissions, political decision-making, and the global flow of biophysical resources. These asymmetries reshape not only climate but also Earth’s physical systems, prompting a reconsideration of the Anthropocene as a “Technocene,” driven by technological agency embodied in the modern company. Despite their autonomy, resources, and transformative capacity, companies remain underexamined in legal theory, often subsumed under “personhood” or treated as legal fictions. Existing debates focus on corporate obligations, neglecting the underexplored domain of corporate rights. This Special Issue of Transnational Legal Theory, originating from a workshop we convened at Lund University, interrogates the company as a legal subject, central to global governance and ecological transformation, and challenges prevailing human-centred accounts of law, politics, and the environment. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
and
organization
publishing date
type
Contribution to journal
publication status
epub
subject
keywords
Corporations, Human rights, Technocene, Legal theory, Legal persons
in
Transnational Legal Theory
publisher
Taylor & Francis
ISSN
2041-4005
DOI
10.1080/20414005.2025.2537489
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
af45a82a-77c8-4d46-9c21-6e492dfa07ce
date added to LUP
2025-08-14 09:03:53
date last changed
2025-08-15 09:03:29
@article{af45a82a-77c8-4d46-9c21-6e492dfa07ce,
  abstract     = {{This special issue examines the role of companies as rights-bearing actors in shaping planetary change. While anthropogenic climate change is commonly framed as the work of humanity, vast disparities in power mean that corporate entities have a disproportionate influence over emissions, political decision-making, and the global flow of biophysical resources. These asymmetries reshape not only climate but also Earth’s physical systems, prompting a reconsideration of the Anthropocene as a “Technocene,” driven by technological agency embodied in the modern company. Despite their autonomy, resources, and transformative capacity, companies remain underexamined in legal theory, often subsumed under “personhood” or treated as legal fictions. Existing debates focus on corporate obligations, neglecting the underexplored domain of corporate rights. This Special Issue of Transnational Legal Theory, originating from a workshop we convened at Lund University, interrogates the company as a legal subject, central to global governance and ecological transformation, and challenges prevailing human-centred accounts of law, politics, and the environment.}},
  author       = {{Gill-Pedro, Eduardo and Salminen, Jaakko}},
  issn         = {{2041-4005}},
  keywords     = {{Corporations; Human rights; Technocene; Legal theory; Legal persons}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  month        = {{08}},
  publisher    = {{Taylor & Francis}},
  series       = {{Transnational Legal Theory}},
  title        = {{Decoding the Rights of Companies in the Technocene : an Introduction}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20414005.2025.2537489}},
  doi          = {{10.1080/20414005.2025.2537489}},
  year         = {{2025}},
}