Arturo, Sandra, Poli and Cecilia: four paradigmatic cases of Argentine jurisprudence

Abstract

The present essay aims to demonstrate in four paradigmatic cases, how the Argentine jurisprudential law, through the judgments of different courts of diverse hierarchy, have marked a dividing line from which to support the animals within the legal category of " things "is, at least, contradictory and fallacious. Arturo the bear, the orangutan Sandra, the dog Poli and the chimpanzee Cecilia are already a milestone from which the juridical thought on the legal nature of the animal begins to move a clearer, more just and equitable way. In these cases, it has been the judges who have taken the lead over the legal doctrine and have taken the step forward that for years, centuries, and law thinkers had only been able to theorize.