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Ecuador court case on the constitutionality of the Mining Regulation 2017

Ecuador
National
Approved in 2021
Case
Rights Of Nature
the concentration of species that inhabit the river
Freshwater Ecosystem
Fred Larreátegui Fabara, María Alejandra Zambrano Torres,Andrea Cristina Bravo Aguilar, Cristina Burneo Salazar, Ana Cristina Basrantes Puebla, Jaqueline Guanami Suárez, Pedro Emilio Manosalvas Paredes, Luis Felipe Quizhpe Querido and Nathalia Paola Bonilla Cueva
Civil Society

Summary

In 2017, nine people in Ecuador presented a public action of unconstitutionality against articles 86 and 136 of the Environmental Regulation of Mining Activities (RAAM). In 2021, the Constitutional Court agreed to hear their case. The plaintiffs argued that the articles, which involved modifications and diversion of watercourses, violated the precautionary principle and rights of nature because modifying or diverting the course of a river to carry out mining activities affects environmental sustainability and alters the chemical composition of the water, impacting the concentration of species in the river. The Constitutional Court accepted the public action of unconstitutionality, declaring articles 86 and 136 of the RAAM are unconstitutional for not observing the principle of legal reserve.

Legal Document

To see the original legal document(s) for this initiative, click the links below:

Ecuadorian Constitutional Court Judgment on Unconstitutionality of the Mining Law [PDF]

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