Teresa Vicente

Teresa Vicente is a lawyer who teaches Philosophy of Law and heads the Chair of Human Rights and Rights of Nature at the University of Múrcia. She led the Mar Menor People’s Legislation Initiative which sought to introduce a law granting legal personhood to this ecosystem. In a case that was unprecedented in Europe, the Spanish Senate approved the law in 2022. Teresa Vicente has also worked in the areas of justice and social rights, legal feminism, and international criminal justice, and is currently engaged in the domain of protection of the rights of nature. She was Spanish spokesperson in the United Nations General Assembly Interactive Dialogues on Harmony with Nature in 2023, and is one of leading voices advocating the establishment of a UN Earth Assembly. As author of Justicia ecológica y derechos de la naturaleza (Ecological Justice and Rights of Nature, Tirant lo Blanch, 2023), she describes the campaign that led to recognition of the legal personhood of the Mar Menor. She also edited the volume Justicia ecológica en la era del antropoceno (Ecological Justice in the Anthropocene Era, Trotta, 2016) and has published numerous articles in academic journals. Teresa Vicente has received several awards in recognition of her work, among them, the 2024 Goldman Europe Environmental Prize, the Council of Europe Medal for Volunteering, and the Gold Medal of the City of Múrcia.