As a result of a cooperative effort between Ecuador's Constitutional Assembly and the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund (a Pennsylvanian group providing legal assistance to governments and community groups trying to mesh human affairs and the environment), changes were written into Ecaudor's constitution in 2008, giving nature the "right to exist, persist, maintain and regenerate its vital cycles, structure, functions and its processes in evolution". Further, the legislation mandates that the government take "precaution and restriction measures in all the activities that can lead to the extinction of species, the destruction of the ecosystems or the permanent alteration of the natural cycles."
According to an article published in the Guardian, the new language suggested a shift in the legal framework used to handle environmental lawsuits. Whereas previously, damages and reparations had been measured in anthropocentric way -- that is, based on the impacts to humans -- these laws included provision for humans "to sue on behalf of an ecosystem."
The laws were enacted during Ecuador's legal battle with Chevron, and indeed, were conceived in response to "Ecuador's growing disillusionment with foreign multinationals". Now, three years after the constitutional modification, the conflict continues.
The legal battle between Ecuador (the suit was launched on behalf of 30,000 Ecuadorian plaintiffs) and Chevron has been dragging on since 1993. On February 14, 2011, after 18 years of campaigning, an Ecuadorian court found the company liable for $18 billion in damages to the Amazon.
In an official statement, Chevron vowed to appeal. "The Ecuadorian court's judgment is illegitimate and unenforceable. It is the product of fraud and is contrary to the legitimate scientific evidence," the statement reads. "Chevron will appeal this decision in Ecuador and intends to see that justice prevails."
Now, three months after the ruling, the company has not only refused to honor to the judgement (with a spokesperson now-famously claiming they would fight "until Hell freezes over"), but has also launched an attack on the integrity of the Ecuadorian courts. "United States and international tribunals already have taken steps to bar enforcement of the Ecuadorian ruling. Chevron does not believe that today's judgment is enforceable in any court that observes the rule of law," the company said in the same statement.
Based on the complaint of the company, U.S. District Judge Lewis Kaplan has agreed to hear a case to determine whether the court's judgement should be recognized. As reported by The New York Times, "the Ecuadorean justice system is scheduled to go on trial before a federal judge in New York."
The case is gaining international notoriety, and capturing the attention of activists -- and shareholders. According to an article published on SFGate.com, New York state's comptroller Tom DiNapoli, who is responsible for The New York State Common Retirement Fund, a shareholder in Chevron, has called on the company to settle the case. "Investors don't derive any benefit from this never-ending courtroom drama," DiNapoli said, in a press release. "The entire case is looming like a hammer over shareholders' heads." Still, the oil company refuses to budge.
A tireless ally in this legal battle, environmental activism group Amazon Watch has produced a video and petition on their site that provides background information and a forum to voice your support for the Ecuadorian plaintiffs in this case. Watch the video below, and sign the petition here.
Meanwhile, under pressure from an international coalition of academics and environmental activists, the United Nations is considering the adoption of the Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth, submitted by Bolivia.
"We hope that one day a Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth will stand as the companion to the 1948 Universal Declaration of Human Rights as one of the guiding covenants of our time," said citizen's advocacy organization Council of Canadians campaigner Maude Barlow. "It took a long time to get the world to accept the Universal Declaration of Human Rights... It will not be an easy struggle to have the rights of nature understood and adopted. But it will happen one day."
Related Stories:
Bolivia Set to Pass Historic 'Law of Mother Earth' Which Will Grant Nature Equal Rights to Humans.
Turkey considering ecological approach to new constitution. Read more here.
