Speak4Nature researchers submit an Amicus Curiae brief to the Argentine Supreme Court in defence of Salinas Grandes
Speak4Nature researchers María Valeria Berros and Stefano Saluzzo formally submitted their intervention as Friends of the Court (Amicus Curiae) to the Supreme Court of Justice of Argentina, in the context of the case “Comunidad Aborigen de Santuario de Tres Pozos y otras y otros c/ Jujuy, Provincia de y otros s/ amparo ambiental” (Expediente N° 2637/2019).The submission, prepared with legal support from Santiago Kozicki, stems from the joint research carried out as part of the Speak4Nature project.
The brief provides legal arguments for analysing the case, emphasising the tensions between foreign investment protection regimes and the requirements arising from environmental law, human rights and the rights of indigenous peoples, particularly in the context of the expansion of lithium extraction.
The academic contribution argues that the entry into force of the Incentive Regime for Large Investments (RIGI), established by Law No. 27,742, will exacerbate the socio-environmental conflicts already present in the Salinas Grandes–Guayatayoc basin. In this regard, the paper warns that the enhanced regulatory stability provided for in Article 165 may limit the State’s ability to adopt new environmental protection measures, whilst the priority given to the supply of inputs for projects covered by the scheme could come into conflict with the human right to water and with the preservation of freshwater aquifers, which are essential for the subsistence of the communities living in the area.
Furthermore, the submission analyses the implications of the international arbitration clause set out in Article 221 of the RIGI, which enables investors to refer any disputes to international arbitration tribunals, thereby bypassing the jurisdiction of the Argentine courts and limiting the participation of potentially affected communities in such proceedings.
Finally, the paper points out that the investment regime enacted by the national legislature, as well as the accessions currently being approved, are being implemented without adequate opportunities for public participation and without guaranteeing the right of indigenous peoples to free, prior and informed consultation, in contravention of the standards established by the National Constitution and international human rights law.The submission concludes that the potential inclusion of extractive projects in the RIGI within the Salinas Grandes–Guayatayoc basin could transform a conflict currently before the courts regarding the management of the territory and water resources into a situation of irreversible harm to human rights and collective rights.
