Landau, 22th of February 2025
Preliminary remark
On 8th of January 2025, the Committee of Ministers of the Boric government once again rejected the Dominga mining and port project (see article from 12 January on these pages). As announced, the owner of the project, the company Andes Iron, has lodged an appeal against the decision. Although the rejection helps to protect the sensitive Humboldt Archipelago ecosystem, civil society groups and environmental civil society groups and environmental organisations have also lodged an objection organisations have also lodged an objection, as the government has given insufficient reasons for its decision and did not provide essential reasons for the rejection. The environmental court in Antofagasta has now ruled again in the ‘Dominga’ case and has‘ordered’ the government to make a new decision within ten days. Allianza Humboldt and the NGO Oceana issued the following press release on 17th of February 2025:
Allegation: The First Environmental Court of Antofagasta made an unlawful judgement in judgement in favour of Dominga.
Lawyers from Alianza Humboldt, an association of civil society organisations and local organisations and local communities, announced an appeal to the Supreme Court.
The lawyers of Alianza Humboldt described the recent decision of the First Environmental Court of Antofagasta in the Dominga case as ‘unprecedented’ and ‘illegal’. The court ruling states that the rejection of the mining and harbour project by the Committee of Ministers must be changed. In doing so paragraphs that justify this decision are declared invalid and the environmental authority to make a new decision within ten days.
‘By ordering the authorisation of Dominga, the First Environmental Court is doing something that it is strictly forbidden to do, namely to influence the authority, in this case the Committee of Ministers. The court is not authorised to substitute any technical information that could cast doubt on the the feasibility of this project. That is the sole responsibility of the administrative authority,’ explained Marcos Emilfork, legal coordinator of the NGO FIMA and representative of the Association of Fishermen and Shellfish Farmers of Los Choros. ‘With regard to the overstepping of powers, the legal system offers numerous ways to try to rectify this serious error,’ said the lawyer.
With this judgement, the Court is responding to the claim by Andes Iron, the owner of the Dominga owner of the Dominga project, that the Committee of Ministers in its decision on 8th of January did not follow the guidelines of the previous judgement of the Environmental Court. The Dominga project was cancelled by the unanimously rejected by the Committee of Ministers for the third time. In doing so the impact on the terrestrial environment and inadequacies in the plans in the event of possible leaks were emphasised.
‘What we are experiencing here is unprecedented. We are seeing how the Environmental Court is arrogating to itself powers it does not have, ignoring its specific mandate in environmental matters and orders the authorisation of dominga in a way that is not provided for in the legal system. This is of fundamental importance as this approach violates the rule of law,’ said lawyer Alejandra Donoso, director of Defensoría Ambiental, which represents local communities opposing the Andes Iron's port and mining project. ‘We will file a complaint with the Supreme Court to change this situation and ensure compliance with the law by the environmental court of Antofagasta. It is very important to question the motives behind this action, as the legal system is being called into question,’ says Donoso.
For its part, the marine conservation organisation Oceana pointed out the tendency to favour the Andes Iron project. ‘We have seen from the beginning how this court has done everything in favour of Dominga's approval. In doing so exceeded its competences and disregarded its mandate for environmental mandate to protect the environment,’ said the executive director of the NGO in Chile, Liesbeth van der Meer. The previous judgement of the First Environmental Court of Antofagasta was was challenged before the Supreme Court due to its irregularities.
Alianza Humboldt reaffirms its commitment to the protection of the ecosystem ‘Humboldt Archipelago’ and the communities in the region that are resisting the ‘Dominga’ megaproject.
W. K.
translated by Claudia Fawer
