Books, articles and documents
Symposium of Judges and Prosecutors of Latin America
Environmental Compliance and Enforcement
Proceedings and Declaration of Buenos Aires

Editor: María Eugenia Di Paola Supported by: World Bank Institute (WBI) United Nations Environmental Program (UNEP) © FARN, 2003 I.S.B.N. # 987-20681-1-9 228 pp.

ABSTRACT:

Organizing a second international public event, little more than a year after the First International Conference on Environmental Enforcement and Compliance in Latin America, is a source of great satisfaction to us. It is a clear indication of the progress that has been made in one of the Programs that is of most interest to us in our Foundation, and one which we are fostering with the greatest dedication. On this occasion the Symposium focused on the Judiciary, as we believe that a great deal of attention should be paid on it, in order to improve access to justice and contribute to the work of judges and prosecutors alike. The two-day event included a large number of activities and was attended by a considerable body of senior magistrates and prosecutors from all over Latin America.

We worked on a wide range of topics and the most varied questions, in accordance with an agenda that became more specific during the course of the Electronic Dialogue which preceded the Symposium. Attention was focused on issues as diverse as training, justice and civil society, organization of the judicial branch in light of the content of environmental issues, the role of judges and prosecutors in environmental enforcement and compliance, constitutional processes, environmental damage, and many other topics. The proceedings, the conclusions of the Electronic Dialogue and the Declaration of Buenos Aires are published in this book.

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Prologue, by Daniel A. Sabsay

Initial remarks, by Adriana Bianchi

Opening words, by Rossana Silva Repetto

Role of judges and prosecutors in Latin America on environmental compliance and enforcement. Conclusions of the Electronic Dialogue, by María Eugenia Di Paola

Agenda of Symposium Latin American Judges and Prosecutors

Opening panel

Economic assessment of environmental degradation,
by Carlos de Miguel

Constitution and environment in sustainable development,
by Daniel A. Sabsay

On the socio-cultural fundamentals of environmental law,
by Antonio Azuela

The importance of environmental judicial decisions. The Brazilian Experience, by Vladimir Passos de Freitas

Training of judges and prosecutors. Raising awareness of environmental matters (methodological experiences and trends)

Latin American needs assessment and judges and prosecutors planning meeting, by Sylvia Bankobeza

The Judiciary and civil society. Aspects of civil society involvement in environmental judicial procedures to improve environmental enforcement and compliance. Spaces for civil participation in processes in which the defense of collective interests is debated.

The principle of access to information, participation and justice in environmental matters in Latin America: new spaces, new rights?, by Guillermo Acuña

The organization of the Judiciary and environmental competence. General and specialized jurisdictions. The role of judges and prosecutors in regional integration

Argentine constitutional system and distribution of environmental competences, by Eduardo Pablo Jiménez

Assessment of environmental enforcement and compliance by the judiciary and prosecutors. Access to environmental justice, the effectiveness of legal procedures and the efficacy of environmental decisions. Indicators.

The action of the Public Prosecutor’s Office on river basins and the experience in Minas Gerais, by Jarbas Soares Júnior

Access to environmental justice, the effectiveness of judicial procedures and the efficacy of environmental decisions. The experience of Argentine courts, by Sergio Dugo, with the
collaboration of Emilio Faggi

Civil legal action and environmental damage in Latin America (Legal standing, measures of urgency and evidence, costs and scope of the sentence).

Environmental public civil action: the Brazilian experience, analysis of jurisprudence, by Silvia Cappelli

The juridical concept of environment. Comments on the Lower Court verdict of 19 December 2002, pronounced in the Rol Case No 612-99, “State Treasury of Chile versus Compañía Industrial
Puerto Montt S.A.”, by Juan Carlos Silva Opazo

Constitutional procedures and environmental protection in Latin America (legal standing, measures of urgency and evidence, costs and scope of the sentence).

Constitutional procedures and environmental protection in Latin America. Legal standing, measures of urgency and evidence, costs and scope of the sentence, by Neófito López Ramos

State, environment and pertinent process: of the duties assumed, and of the rights to securing effective compliance (a first approach to enforceable environmental law), by Enrique A. Viana Ferreira . 149 Environmental law in Peru, by José Antonio Peláez Bardales

Criminal environmental action (legal standing, measures of urgency and evidence, costs and scope of the sentence).

The environmental criminal lawsuit, by Antonio Gustavo Gómez

Environment, offense, and penal process, by Mario Gustavo Costa

The environmental penal action (legal standing, measures of urgency and evidence, costs and scope of the sentence),
by Roxana Sobenes

The relationship between the Judiciary and the Executive Branch on environmental enforcement and compliance. Mechanisms of coordination and interaction.

Environmental compliance and enforcement at the United States Department of Justice and the role of the Judiciary in enforcement, by John C. Cruden

The relationship between the Judiciary and the Executive Branch on environmental enforcement and compliance. Mechanisms of coordination and interaction, by Andrea Brusco

Declaration of Buenos Aires

List of participants