Motivación en las sentencias emitidas por los jueces de primer nivel en el Ecuador

Abstract

Abstract: The present case, 21201-2020-00170, corresponds to a constitutional claim processed through a protective action, filed by the minors L.Y. J. and others against the Ecuadorian State: at the time of the events, through its representatives who held positions of authority in the following public institutions: the Ministry of Energy and Non-Renewable Natural Resources, the Ministry of the Environment, and the Attorney General's Office, exercising the rights recognized in the Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador, against alleged acts and omissions attributable to public authorities that would have violated constitutional rights of an individual, collective, and environmental nature. The lawsuit was filed based on the annual authorization issued by the Ministry of Energy and Non-Renewable Natural Resources, through the Secretariat of Hydrocarbons, which authorized oil companies to use flares for gas flaring. The plaintiffs argued that this practice contravenes the provisions of the Hydrocarbons Law (1978), which stipulates that surplus gas not used by Petroecuador or its contractors or associates, or that cannot be reinjected into the respective reservoirs, will be subject to special agreements or the provisions of the regulations. Contractors or associates may not waste natural gas by releasing it into the atmosphere or burning it without authorization from the Secretariat of Hydrocarbons. (Art. 39) On appeal, the court recognized the violation of the rights alleged by the plaintiffs, concluding that the authorization was incompatible with the aforementioned regulations. Consequently, it ordered the State to regulate authorizations, prioritizing clean technologies and restricting this practice in populated areas, in accordance with the rights of nature and the best interests of children and adolescents, among others.