From a legal point of view, Mr Cox says, a case could be made that pension funds and other institutional investors are violating their fiduciary responsibilities when they do not try to get their money.

ECONOMIST: Some things even people on Wall Street will not do for a buck

Let us get into a position where we know what we are taking on from a legal and financial point of view.

BBC: Wealthy UK investor considers Portsmouth bid

"We've neglected public health systems financially, from a policy point of view and a legal point of view, for decades, " says Lawrence Gostin , professor of law and public health at Georgetown University and Johns Hopkins University.

FORBES: OutFront

She told of how a group of killer whales that lives near Vancouver, passing between waters controlled (from a human point of view) by Canada and the United States, have acquired legal protection even though the species as a whole is not endangered.

ECONOMIST: A declaration of the rights of cetaceans