Invitado Viejo Golanchik Publicado 20 de Abril del 2010 Share Publicado 20 de Abril del 2010 (editado) 20 AVRIL 2010 ARRÊT AFFAIRE RELATIVE À DES USINES DE PÂTE À PAPIER SUR LE FLEUVE URUGUAY (ARGENTINE c. URUGUAY) ___________ CASE CONCERNING PULP MILLS ON THE RIVER URUGUAY (ARGENTINA v. URUGUAY) 20 APRIL 2010 JUDGMENT TABLE OF CONTENTS Paragraphs CHRONOLOGY OF THE PROCEDURE 1-24 I. LEGAL FRAMEWORK AND FACTS OF THE CASE 25-47 A. Legal framework 26-27 B. CMB (ENCE) Project 28-36 C. Orion (Botnia) mill 37-47 II. SCOPE OF THE COURT’S JURISDICTION 48-66 III. THE ALLEGED BREACH OF PROCEDURAL OBLIGATIONS 67-158 A. The links between the procedural obligations and the substantive obligations 71-79 B. The procedural obligations and their interrelation 80-122 1. The nature and role of CARU 84-93 2. Uruguay’s obligation to inform CARU 94-111 3. Uruguay’s obligation to notify the plans to the other party 112-122 C. Whether the Parties agreed to derogate from the procedural obligations set out in the 1975 Statute 123-150 1. The “understanding” of 2 March 2004 between Argentina and Uruguay 125-131 2. The agreement setting up the High-Level Technical Group (the GTAN) 132-150 D. Uruguay’s obligations following the end of the negotiation period 151-158 IV. SUBSTANTIVE OBLIGATIONS 159-266 A. Burden of proof and expert evidence 160-168 B. Alleged violations of substantive obligations 169-266 1. The obligation to contribute to the optimum and rational utilization of the river (Article 1) 170-177 2. The obligation to ensure that the management of the soil and woodland does not impair the régime of the river or the quality of its waters (Article 35) 178-180 3. The obligation to co-ordinate measures to avoid changes in the ecological balance (Article 36) 181-189 - ii - 4. The obligation to prevent pollution and preserve the aquatic environment (Article 41) 190-202 (a) Environmental Impact Assessment 203-219 (i) The siting of the Orion (Botnia) mill at Fray Bentos 207-214 (ii) Consultation of the affected populations 215-219 (b) Question of the production technology used in the Orion (Botnia) mill 220-228 © Impact of the discharges on the quality of the waters of the river 229-259 (i) Dissolved oxygen 238-239 (ii) Phosphorus 240-250 (iii) Phenolic substances 251-254 (iv) Presence of nonylphenols in the river environment 255-257 (v) Dioxins and furans 258-259 (d) Effects on biodiversity 260-262 (e) Air pollution 263-264 (f) Conclusions on Article 41 265 (g) Continuing obligations: monitoring 266 V. THE CLAIMS MADE BY THE PARTIES IN THEIR FINAL SUBMISSIONS 267-281 OPERATIVE CLAUSE 282 ___________ ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS AAP “Autorización Ambiental Previa” (Initial environmental authorization) ADCP Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler AOX Adsorbable Organic Halogens BAT Best Available Techniques (or Technology) Botnia “Botnia S.A.” and “Botnia Fray Bentos S.A.” (two companies formed under Uruguayan law by the Finnish company Oy Metsä-Botnia AB) CARU “Comisión Administradora del Río Uruguay” (Administrative Commission of the River Uruguay) CIS Cumulative Impact Study (prepared in September 2006 at the request of the International Finance Corporation) CMB “Celulosas de M’Bopicuá S.A.” (a company formed under Uruguayan law by the Spanish company ENCE) CMB (ENCE) Pulp mill planned at Fray Bentos by the Spanish company ENCE, which formed the Uruguayan company CMB for that purpose DINAMA “Dirección Nacional de Medio Ambiente” (National Directorate for the Environment of the Uruguayan Government) ECF Elemental-Chlorine-Free EIA Environmental Impact Assessment ENCE “Empresa Nacional de Celulosas de España” (Spanish company which formed the company CMB under Uruguayan law) ESAP Environmental and Social Action Plan GTAN “Grupo Técnico de Alto Nivel” (High-Level Technical Group established in 2005 by Argentina and Uruguay to resolve their dispute over the CMB (ENCE) and Orion (Botnia) mills) IFC International Finance Corporation IPPC-BAT Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control Reference Document on Best Available Techniques in the Pulp and Paper Industry MVOTMA “Ministerio de Vivienda, Ordenamiento Territorial y Medio Ambiente” (Uruguayan Ministry of Housing, Land Use Planning and Environmental Affairs) Orion (Botnia) Pulp mill built at Fray Bentos by the Finnish company Oy Metsä-Botnia AB, which formed the Uruguayan companies Botnia S.A. and Botnia Fray Bentos S.A. for that purpose OSE “Obras Sanitarias del Estado” (Uruguay’s State Agency for Sanitary Works) POPs Persistent Organic Pollutants PROCEL “Plan de Monitoreo de la Calidad Ambiental en el Río Uruguay en Áreas de Plantas Celulósicas” (Plan for monitoring water quality in the area of the pulp mills set up under CARU) PROCON “Programa de Calidad de Aguas y Control de la Contaminación del Río Uruguay” (Water quality and pollution control programme set up under CARU) ___________ INTERNATIONAL COURT OF JUSTICE YEAR 2010 2010 20 April General List No. 135 20 April 2010 CASE CONCERNING PULP MILLS ON THE RIVER URUGUAY (ARGENTINA v. URUGUAY) Legal framework and facts of the case. 1961 Treaty of Montevideo — 1975 Statute of the River Uruguay ⎯ Establishment of the Administrative Commission of the River Uruguay (CARU) ⎯ CMB (ENCE) pulp mill project ⎯ Orion (Botnia) pulp mill project ⎯ Port terminal at Nueva Palmira — Subject of the dispute. * Scope of the Court’s jurisdiction. Compromissory clause (Article 60 of the 1975 Statute) — Provisions of the 1975 Statute and jurisdiction ratione materiae — Lack of jurisdiction for the Court to consider allegations concerning noise and visual pollution or bad odours (Article 36 of the 1975 Statute) — Air pollution and impact on the quality of the waters of the river addressed under substantive obligations. Article 1 of the 1975 Statute — Definition of the purpose of the 1975 Statute — Joint machinery necessary for the optimum and rational utilization of the river — Significance of the reference to the “rights and obligations arising from treaties and other international agreements in force for each of the parties” — Original Spanish text — Statute adopted by the parties in observance of their respective international commitments. - 2 - Article 41 (a) of the 1975 Statute — Original Spanish text — Absence of a “referral clause” having the effect of incorporating within the ambit of the Statute the obligations of the parties under international agreements and other norms envisaged in the Statute — Obligation for the parties to exercise their regulatory powers, in conformity with applicable international agreements, for the protection and preservation of the aquatic environment of the River Uruguay — Rules for interpreting the 1975 Statute — Article 31 of the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties — Distinction between taking account of other international rules in the interpretation of the 1975 Statute and the scope of the jurisdiction of the Court under Article 60 of the latter. * Alleged breach of procedural obligations. Question of links between the procedural obligations and the substantive obligations — Object and purpose of the 1975 Statute — Optimum and rational utilization of the River Uruguay — Sustainable development — Co-operation between the parties in jointly managing the risks of damage to the environment — Existence of a functional link, in regard to prevention, between the procedural obligations and the substantive obligations — Responsibility in the event of breaches of either category. Interrelation of the various procedural obligations laid down by Articles 7 to 12 of the 1975 Statute — Original Spanish text of Article 7 — Obligation to inform, notify and negotiate as an appropriate means of achieving the objective of optimum and rational utilization of the river as a shared resource — Legal personality of CARU — Central role of CARU in the joint management of the river and obligation of the parties to co-operate. Obligation to inform CARU (Article 7, first paragraph, of the 1975 Statute) — Works subject to this obligation — Link between the obligation to inform CARU, co-operation between the parties and the obligation of prevention — Determination by CARU on a preliminary basis of whether there is a risk of significant damage to the other party — Content of the information to be transmitted to CARU — Obligation to inform CARU before issuing of the initial environmental authorization — Provision of information to CARU by private operators cannot substitute for the obligation to inform laid down by the 1975 Statute — Breach by Uruguay of the obligation to inform CARU. Obligation to notify the plans to the other party (Article 7, second and third paragraphs, of the 1975 Statute) — Need for a full environmental impact assessment (EIA) — Notification of the EIA to the other party, through CARU, before any decision on the environmental viability of the plan — Breach by Uruguay of the obligation to notify the plans to Argentina. Question of whether the Parties agreed to derogate from the procedural obligations — “Understanding” of 2 March 2004 — Content and scope — Since Uruguay did not comply with it, the “understanding” cannot be regarded as having had the effect of exempting Uruguay from compliance with the procedural obligations — Agreement setting up the High-Level Technical - 3 - Group (GTAN) — Referral to the Court on the basis of Article 12 or Article 60 of the 1975 Statute: no practical distinction —
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