The Procedural Foundations of Corporate Citizenship
In this piece, I build on the concept of trans-personality to show that equal access to the adjudicatory system is an essential feature and marker of citizenship. Substantive corporate rights developed in tandem with the expansion and recognition of trans-personal procedures. For example, corporations were "citizens" for diversity jurisdiction purposes long before they claimed the substantive rights of citizens. Struggles over procedural equality helped to prepare the ground for substantive equality. This paper explores the practical and theoretical implications of building substantive rights on procedural foundations, both for our understanding of corporate personality and the effect of procedure on social identities. The paper identifies the connections between the substantive and procedural treatment of corporations. It cautions that procedural design must take into account the symbolic value and normative consequences of accepting artificial persons into otherwise trans-personal regimes.
DRAFT. Please do not cite without permission.
