Re: Pac Rim Cayman LLC v. Republic of El Salvador, ICSID Case No ARB/09/12, Submission of Amicus Curiae Brief on the Merits of the Dispute (CIEL) (July 2014)

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In their amicus curiae brief, amici argue that the measures adopted by El Salvador regarding the mining project proposed by Pac Rim Cayman LLC find support on the State’s international obligations on human rights and environment. In particular, human rights obligations relating to the environment require that El Salvador design and apply a legal framework to ensure the full enjoyment of fundamental rights threatened by risky activities of third parties. In the specific context of the hydric and environmental circumstances in El Salvador, mining imposes unacceptable risks to the population and the environment. Therefore, El Salvador’s application of a domestic legal framework that provides effective protections to the rights of people threatened by the risk generated by activities of third parties is not a wrongful act; but rather the opposite. In the same way, the full implementation of the rights of access to information, participation and justice in environmental matters, enshrined in Principle 10 of the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, requires the adoption of measures that reflect the content of the social dialogue over the use of natural resources in the country. Accordingly, amici argue that Claimants claims are baseless and should be dismissed.

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