The 2025 Conference 'The Legal Distinction Between Persons and Things: Changing Perspectives' is organized by the research group Personal Rights & Property Rights (PR2) of the University of Antwerp under the auspices of its research line 'The distinction between persons and things'. This research line aims to research how the distinction between persons and things is being increasingly challenged, and seeks ways to rethink this central divide. The research line is a transversal research line that overlaps with the other four research lines that are part of the research group PR2.
The Conference is intended to bring together legal scholars and scholars from other disciplines who are working around the main theme of 'persons', 'things' and the relation between them, particularly in a private law context. The members of the PR2 research group will present their research and are open for potential collaborations with other scholars for future projects.
The Conference seeks to critically re-evaluate the legal status of various entities, from animals, AI, and robots to embryos, human body materials, and beyond. We invite papers that address these shifting boundaries, questioning traditional concepts of autonomy, liability, and rights, while considering the implications for international, European, and national law.