Corte Suprema de Justicia de la Nación (CSJN) [highest court on constitutional and federal matters], 11/09/2010, “Recurso de hecho deducido por la demandada en la causa Arenas, Gabriel Francisco y Bitar, María Graciela v. Estado Nacional - Comisión Na

The highest court on constitutional and federal matters denied an appeal filed by the National Government within an amparo action [accelerated proceeding which protects constitutional rights – Argentine Constitution, Section 43] against the Comisión Nacional de Energía Atómica (CNEA) [National Commission on Atomic Energy] with the aim of achieving the complete remediation of environmental liabilities in Sierra Pintada mine (San Rafael, Province of Mendoza). In 2007, a federal judge of San Rafael had ordered the CNEA to refrain from beginning the exploitation of Sierra Pintada uranium mine. This measure was later on confirmed by the Federal Court of Appeals of the Province of Mendoza. The decision of the Federal Court of Appeals was based on the precautionary principle, included in the General Law on the Environment, forbidding the exploitation to avoid an environmental damage of severe and irreversible consequences.