Abstract

MARTINEZ-MOSCOSO, Andrés; ALARCON-PENA, Pablo  and  SANCHEZ ESPINOSA, Martina. The Rights of Nature in the Case Law of the Ecuadorian Constitutional Court: Recognition and Historical Evolution. Díkaion [online]. 2023, vol.32, n.1, e32117.  Epub July 19, 2023. ISSN 0120-8942.  https://doi.org/10.5294/dika.2023.32.1.17.

Since 2008, Ecuador has constitutionally recognized Nature as a rights holder; however, the Constitutional Court has played a preponderant role in elaborating its content in a constitutional State of rights and justice such as the Ecuadorian one. The article studies the historical evolution of constitutional case law in this matter. The research critically studied the main judgments using three variables: heritage forests, water bodies, and wildlife. The paper presents the main results, emphasizing the cases of Bosque Protector Los Cedros, due to the use of the principle of prevention for the recognition of the rights of Nature, and Estrellita, in which the recognition of wild animals as rights holders was discussed. The article concludes that, despite the progress in the elaboration of the content of these rights, it is necessary that academia, professional associations, and lawyers in free practice fully understand it comprehensively and do not try to benefit from isolated paragraphs of the judgments, causing uncertainties and erroneous interpretations, under the pretext of the protection of the rights of Nature.

Keywords : Rights of Nature; constitutional control; Ecuador; constitutional law; animal rights.