On November 12, 2024, in Judgment No. 02334-2024-00162, the Provincial Court of Bolívar (“Court“) rejected the appeal filed by Mirian Adela Naranjo Zapata and others (“Plaintiffs“) and upheld the judgment of the lower court, in which the constitutional protective action filed by the Plaintiffs against the Curipamba – El Domo mining project was dismissed. This action was based on an alleged non-compliance, due to actions and omissions, during the environmental consultation process prior to the issuance of the environmental license for the exploitation and processing phase of the Curipamba – El Domo Mining Project.

The Court, after an exhaustive analysis of the arguments presented by the Plaintiffs, the Ministry of the Environment, Water and Ecological Transition, Curimining S.A., the Office of the Attorney General and various amicus curiae, concluded that the protective actions are admissible only when a real and direct violation of constitutional rights is demonstrated, provided that there is no other adequate and effective judicial mechanism to protect those rights.

In the particular case, the Court determined that the Plaintiffs did not prove the violation of any fundamental right. On the other hand, the questions raised corresponded to aspects of mere legality, which makes the use of the protection action to declare rights in favor of the Plaintiffs inadmissible. In addition, it pointed out that the administrative act that is the subject of the matter could have been challenged through judicial challenges.

With the foregoing, the Court decided to reject the appeal filed by the Plaintiffs, and to confirm the judgment of the first instance.

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