Ecuador Constitutional Court Case: property rights, environmental rights, and rights of nature

Summary

On 11 December 2025, the Constitutional Court of Ecuador issued Judgment 27-21-JC/25 in a case it had selected ex officio in 2021 concerning the relationship between private property rights, environmental rights, and the Rights of Nature. The judgment was officially released on 12 February 2026, and it reinforced the principle of immediate and effective enforcement of the Rights of Nature in situations involving ongoing environmental harm.

Background
The case arose from a 2020 hydrocarbon spill in the Coca Payamino oil field, involving a state-owned oil company. Following the spill, the company sought authorization to enter privately owned land to contain and remediate environmental damage, including contamination affecting a nearby river system, but the landowners denied access. A lawsuit was filed, and a first-instance lower court granted the company permission to enter the property in order to prevent further environmental harm; however, an appellate court later overturned that decision on procedural grounds, restricting access.

Constitutional Court Ruling
Upon review, the Constitutional Court reversed the appellate ruling and held that compelled access to private property constituted a constitutionally valid and necessary measure to address ongoing environmental damage and prevent its expansion. The Court ordered the restoration of the affected site, noting that the contamination persisted several years after the initial spill. The decision further established that precautionary measures must be granted where ecological harm is real, active, and at risk of worsening, and clarified that private property rights may be temporarily limited when required to guarantee Nature’s right to restoration.

The Court reaffirmed the complementary and interdependent relationship between the human right to a healthy environment and the Rights of Nature, consistent with the jurisprudence of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights in 2025. The Court reiterated the broad legal standing available to individuals and public entities to bring actions on behalf of Nature, and emphasized the enhanced level of protection accorded to Nature’s rights within Ecuador’s constitutional framework.

The ruling articulated guidelines for the granting of precautionary measures in environmental and nature-related cases and confirmed that the precedents established therein are binding on constitutional judges in future analogous cases.