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The application of international environmental law principles in Latin America: a world apart from the EU?

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Abstract

This paper presents a comparative discussion of the application of principles of international environmental law in the Latin American region and the European Union. The question we seek to answer is how (international) environmental principles are employed by Supreme Courts in Latin America, with a brief comparison with the approach by the European Court of Justice. This research presents an illustrative sample of Court of Justice cases and Supreme Court cases in Latin American countries to create an overview of different principles and approaches in practice. We construct a database and an illustrative sample of cases related to the environment since the Rio Declaration of 1992. This sample shows a wide range of principles of and approaches to environmental law in Latin America. Preliminary findings point to strong harmonization in the application of the principle of public participation and participation of indigenous groups in development projects. However, other principles, such as participation by women, are not widely disseminated or regularly deployed in arguments in court or in rulings. Others international environmental principles such as the precautionary principle, the polluter pays principle and the principle of sustainable development are also part of our analysis. This paper concludes that the application of environmental law principles in the regions needs to be integrated and strengthened.

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Notes

  1. Gomes Canotilho [5], p. 1228 ff.

  2. Dworkin [7], p. 242.

  3. Source: Rio Declaration on Environment Development at UNEP website. http://www.unep.org/documents.multilingual/default.asp?documentid=78&articleid=1163.

    For didactic reasons we identify the principles by name, and some have been renamed. Principle 1: Sustainable Development; Principle 2: States jurisdictions; Principle 3: Present and future generation; Principle 4: Integration; Principle 5: Eradicating poverty; Principle 6: International actions to developing countries; Principle 7: Cooperation; Principle 8: Eliminate unsustainable patterns; Principle 9: Scientific knowledge and technologic exchanges; Principle 10: Participation; Principle 11: Effective environmental legislation; Principle 12: Open international economic system; Principle 13: Compensation; Principle 14: Dangerous activities or substances; Principle 15: Precaution; Principle 16—PPP; Principle 17—Environmental Impact Assessment; Principle 18—Disasters or emergencies; Principle 19—Notification and good faith; Principle 20—Participation of women; Principle 21—Youth actions; Principle 22—Indigenous participation; Principle 23—People under oppression; Principle 24—Warfare; Principle 25—Interdependence; Principle 26—Peaceful resolution of environmental conflicts; Principle 27—Cooperation to fulfil principles.

  4. We considered the following countries: Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Uruguay and Venezuela. (Source: Acosta García; Sheridan González, Ma. de Lourdes Romero, Luis Reza, Araceli Salinas [6], pp. 75–83.)

  5. For a detailed discussion of the ECJ case law in regard to the precautionary principle, see Alemanno [1], pp. 11–24.

  6. de Sadeleer [3], p. 119. One of the first cases on the precautionary principle addressed the prohibition of substances in foodstuff and the prohibition of imports of the latter on grounds of public health. See Case C-227/82 Van Bennekom [1983] ECR I-3883, 37ff.

  7. Case C-180/96 United Kingdom v Commission [1998] EHR I-226.

  8. Ibid., para. 99.

  9. Case C-353/98 P Laboratoires pharmaceutiques Bergaderm a.o. v. Commission [2000] ECR 5291.

  10. T-13/99 Pfizer Animal Health v Council [2002] ECR II-3305. For a detailed discussion of the case see G. van Calster [4], pp. 109–111.

  11. Pfizer, paras. 143–144.

  12. Case C-333/08 Commission v France [2010] ECR I-757, at 92 and 93.

  13. Case T-198/12 Germany v Commission, EU:T:2014:251.

  14. Case C-77/09 Gowan Comércio Internacional e Serviços [2010] ECR I-13533.

  15. For a detailed discussion of the case see Alemanno [2].

  16. Regulation 178/2002 laying down the general principles and requirements of food law, establishing the European Food Safety Authority and laying down procedures in matters of food safety [2002] OJ L 31/1.

References

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Correspondence to Leonie Reins.

Appendix A

Appendix A

Table 1 Court cases database

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Sanfelice, V.T., Van Calster, G. & Reins, L. The application of international environmental law principles in Latin America: a world apart from the EU?. ERA Forum 17, 501–520 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12027-017-0455-6

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12027-017-0455-6

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