The Legal Form of Animals in Global Value Chain Law: And What It Says About How Law Constructs the Social Condition

The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union (“The Charter”) does not mention animals. The ignoring or downplaying of animals is, however, a general feature of EU law – including in the area what might be called “global value chain law” (GVC Law). This area concerns the chains of contracts and related legal infrastructures structuring central parts of global economic activity, which makes it a significant part of (EU) contemporary economic law, as well.
The argument presented here is twofold. First, animals do not enjoy a particular or special status and are not given a particular legal form in GVC Law. This allows for deeper reflections on how law has observed both animals and humans throughout history, mounting in the observation that the difference in status between animals and humans might be smaller than often assumed. Animals and humans were both domesticated with the help of law and legal techniques. This, in turn, allows us to recast the concept of the social condition produced through law and legal techniques underpinning the fundamental values of EU law as expressed in the EU Charter.