Berlin (Germany) Draft Law: rights of the Spree River

Summary

In 2025, a group of lawyers and academics developed a draft law to recognize the Spree River and its ecosystem as a legal entity with inherent rights. The proposed legislation seeks to establish the Spree as a subject of law, capable of holding and asserting its own rights. In October 2025, the draft law was formally presented and a public petition launched, calling on the Mayor of Berlin and the Berlin Senate to initiate its implementation.

The petition aims to collect 30,000 signatures by summer 2026, at which point the draft legislation will be formally submitted to the Berlin Senate and accompanied by dialogue with political and administrative authorities. As of early 2026, approximately 8,000 signatures have been collected.

The initiative envisions Berlin, together with the federal states of Brandenburg and Saxony, adopting a law that recognizes the Spree River’s inherent rights, including the rights to flow, to exist, and to regenerate. These rights would be represented and exercised by a dedicated committee composed of representatives from government, business, science, environmental protection, and local communities.

The Spree River extends approximately 400 km and flows through the city of Berlin. Decades of straightening, damming, pollution, and overuse have left the river in poor ecological condition, prompting growing concern over its long-term viability.

Jurisprudential Framing
The draft law recognizes the Spree River as an ecological person with legal capacity to invoke and defend its rights in court. Central to this framework is the “right to exist and develop naturally,” which acknowledges the river as an ecosystem governed by ecological laws and natural processes. Respecting this right requires safeguarding the river’s balance and regulatory functions in the face of sustained anthropogenic pressures.

As articulated in the draft: “The Spree, as an ecosystem, includes human and non-human inhabitants and residents. Their interests are therefore both a part of and an expression of the interests of the Spree itself.”

The accompanying explanatory text describes the proposal as a legal experiment. Under current German law, nature is not recognized as a rights-bearing subject, neither as a whole or in relation to specific ecosystems. The authors emphasize that the framework could be applied to other ecosystems, such as Lake Constance, the Wadden Sea, or the Zugspitze.

The draft law and accompanying materials were prepared by Jonas Filfil, Ennio Friedemann, Bernadette Janßen, Elisabeth Koch, Maren Solmecke, and Emma Stremplat, under the guidance of Dr. Franziska Johanna Albrecht (Green Legal Impact Germany eV), with additional contributions from Jakob Kukula (Symbiotic Lab) and Emmanuel Schlichter (Rechte der Natur eV).

Involved Organizations