Summary
On April 26, 2025, a Swiss NGO submitted a constitutional amendment to the canton of Lucerne to recognize the rights of the Reuss River. This canton-level amendment would grant the Reuss River and other bodies of water in the canton of Lucerne constitutional rights and legal personality.
Since 2023, Rechtsperson Reuss, a Swiss nature conservation association, has been working to establish legal personhood for the Reuss River by launching a popular initiative to enshrine its fundamental rights in the constitution of the canton of Lucerne and possibly other Swiss Cantons (Uri, Zug, Zurich, Aargau). The association members are aware that the interests of the Reuss river can be represented in many different ways, but the members see one possibility as anchoring the following articles in the constitution:
§ 10 Abs 3 KV:
The rights of non-human natural persons must be respected and protected.
§ 10bis KV:
1) The Reuss has the right to represent its own interests as a hybrid personality in the legal system.
2) The Reuss has the right to physical integrity, in particular to clean water.
3) Any cruel or degrading treatment of a natural person in and on the Reuss is prohibited. Their right to physical integrity must be respected.
On January 27, 2025, the draft text of the River Reuss initiative was sent to the canton of Lucerne for a preliminary ruling on the admissibility of the rights of nature initiative. Once approved by the justice and security department of the canton of Lucerne, at least 5,000 people in the canton would need to sign the initiative within one year in order to amend the constitution. If successful, the additional paragraphs about the River Reuss as a legal person would then be implemented in the constitution of the canton of Lucerne.
The Reuss is the river that characterizes central Switzerland. It flows from the Gotthard region in the canton of Uri to the north until its water finally end up in the North Sea. For a long time, its wild course in the region was an obstacle to transport over the Gotthard Pass in the Alps. The crossing of the Reuss by a spectacular bridge in the gorge of “Schöllenen” inspired a legend that attributed its construction to a pact with the devil. The Reuss Delta, the nature reserve where the Reuss flows into Lake Lucerne, is also fascinating. The point where the Reuss leaves Lake Lucerne and flows northwards under the Chapel Bridge is world-famous. After the Reuss has absorbed the waters of the Kleine Emme, it flows towards Zug, Zurich and Aargau, where it partly forms the border between the cantons. The area near Brugg, where first the Reuss (after around 160 km) and a little later the Limmat flow into the Aare, is known as the “moated castle of Switzerland”. Although some efforts have been made to renaturalize the Reuss, much of the river’s natural beauty has been destroyed by human intervention, agriculture and the production of energy.
In addition, the association is committed to anchoring legal personality and fundamental rights for other non-human beings in the constitution and is networking with other organizations that pursue this goal.
Suggested Citation:
Kauffman, Craig, Catherine Haas, Alex Putzer, Shrishtee Bajpai, Kelsey Leonard, Elizabeth Macpherson, Pamela Martin, Alessandro Pelizzon & Linda Sheehan. Eco Jurisprudence Monitor. V2. 2025. Distributed by the Eco Jurisprudence Monitor.https://ecojurisprudence.org/initiatives/lucerne-switzerland-constitutional-amendment-on-the-rights-and-legal-personhood-of-the-reuss-river/.
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