“San Juan planteó la inconstitucionalidad de la Ley de Glaciares,” published in “El inversor energético & minero – Newsletter diario” (City of Buenos Aires) on 12/20/2010

The government of the Province of San Juan asked the federal courts to declare the “unconstitutionality” of the Law on Glacier Protection, considering that it “invades” provincial powers “to dispose of the natural resources to which the local government is entitled.” The chief of government advisors of the Province of San Juan, Guillermo de Sanctis, explained that the law that was sanctioned months ago by the Congress is opposed to section 113 of the Provincial Constitution, which states that the National Government “may not dispose of the natural resources” of the district. The national law, as De Sanctis said, may neither make decisions without legal authorization of the province, a situation that does not take place. For the public officer, the law is inapplicable and, thus, “unconstitutional.” “San Juan has plenty of provincial public law regulations by which it regulates the mining activity and management, the productive activities and the environmental projection management, and those provincial regulations are being attacked by this national law,” considered De Sanctis in declarations to Radio Colon. The submission made by the government of the “pro-Kirchner” José Luis Gioja was signed by the province’s Attorney General Mario Diaz, who stated that probably it will be the National Supreme Court of Justice who will have to decide on the matter. Diaz pointed out that the Office of the Procuracion del Tesoro [National Attorney General] “should be displaced from the competence” to take part in a claim filed by a provincial state against a national law as the one on glacier protection. After filing the claim, San Juan became the first provincial government to file an unconstitutionality action of this law.