Mining News

The Argentine Supreme Court of Justice (SCJ) issued its decision regarding the  environmental amparo (accelerated proceeding which protects constitutional rights - Argentine Constitution, Section 43) filed by the Association Diálogo por el Ambiente who pleaded the unconstitutionality of Decree No. 1837/08, which vetoed Law No. 26,418 on "Minimum Standards for Glacier and Glacial Environment Protection" in full. The claimant alleged that said decree is unconstitutional since it leaves glaciers and the glacial environment unprotected, breaching several rules of the Argentine Constitution, the General Environmental Act, the  American Declaration of the Rights and Duties of Man and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, among other. In addition, the claimant requested a cautionary measure prohibiting activities that may affect the natural condition of glaciers, including mining.
The SCJ decided that it does not have standing to rule on the subject matter because it does not belong to the original jurisdiction, as the defendant is not a province. The fact that the claimant broadened the claim against the Provinces of San Juan, Mendoza, Chubut, Santa Cruz, Tierra del Fuego and Neuquén arguing that glaciers are located within their jurisdictions does not determine the claim's legal status since the counterparty is the Argentine Government (who enacted the challenged decree).
  
Province of Catamarca