• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
eco-jurisprudence monitor logo

Eco Jurisprudence Monitor

  • Tracker
    • Report Initiative
    • Printable Charts
    • Data Request
    • Codebook
    • Data Ethics
  • Toolkit
  • About
    • About Us
    • Team
    • Our Story
    • Tracker FAQ
    • Get Involved
    • Contact Us
  • English
    • Español

Ecuador court case on illegal mining activity in La Cero (2012)

Ecuador
National
Approved in 2012
Case
Rights Of Nature
Nature
All Nature
Provincial Court of Justice, Canton Pastaza
Court

Summary

The Regional Coordination of the Zone 3 Mining Agency and Control did an inspection of mining area called La Cero after a complaint about illegal mining was filed against Mireya Nataly Rios Guijarro for performing authorized artisanal mining in the area. The plaintiffs claimed the defendants illegally exploited petrous material without establishing the location of the property affected by that exploitation. The defendants filed a protective action in turn because they claimed to have a permit for mining activity and allege that their due process and legal security was violated. In the first instance, the court decided rights of nature is included in the Mining Law. The court denied the action, citing rights of nature and the need to protect nature as reasoning. An appeal was filed by the plaintiffs of the first protective action and the court partially approved it because Riobamba Mining Regulation and Control Agency abused its authority by ordering the retention of the machinery even though they were not authorized. However, the court decided that work instruments are not material evidence of crimes and the property must be returned because the rights of groups must be considered with rights of nature.

Legal Document

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

Mining at La Cero Case First Judgment [PDF]
Mining at La Cero Case Appeals Judgment [PDF]

Additional Resources

To see other supplementary information related to this initiative, click the links below:

Summary of case

When using our data, please follow the FAIR and CARE Principles for data governance outlined in our Ethics Statement. We are doing our best to be correct in the information we provide, but if you notice any omission or inaccuracy, please report this to us immediately at info@ecojurisprudence.org so we can correct it.

Eco Jurisprudence Tracker is licensed under CC BY 4.0

Footer

Privacy Policy

Contact

  • Tracker
  • News
  • About
  • English
  • Español

© 2025 Eco Jurisprudence Monitor – all rights reserved.