Thanks for posting. That is a very important decision that...

Thanks for posting. That is a very important decision that significantly reduces the country risk further after it had already been dramatically reduced in 2019 with their mining legislation/taxes overhaul, attracting company's like BHP and Fortescue to the country.

I'm no lawer but this appears to be a very important ruling that further protects current concession holders rights. The country seems intent on attracting and keeping international investors to the mining industry in Ecuador.

"On September 21, 2020, the Ecuadorian Constitutional Court (the “Constitutional Court”) upheld the rights of mining concession holders within Ecuador, stating that any referendums relating to mining activities would only apply to future mining rights that are not yet granted and may not be retroactively applied to concessions granted prior to the referendum. Therefore, the lawful rights of the Company have been solidified by the Constitutional Court decision announced today."

"The Constitutional Court confirmed the right to legal certainty in its decision today, stating, “In this regard, the Agency has already ruled that legal certainty is a cross-cutting right that radiates throughout the legal order and to all the actions of the public authorities, so that persons must have a predictable, clear, determined, stable and coherent legal order which allows them to have a reasonable notion of the rules of the game that will be applied to them. Thus, this right must be strictly observed by the powers to provide certainty to the individual and society that their legal status will only be modified by regular procedures established prior to them and by competent authority to avoid arbitrariness.”

"The decision of the Constitutional Court sets the precedent that if any further future referendum requests which meet the criteria previously set by the Constitutional Court are allowed to proceed, it is expected that the potential impact will only be related to future mineral rights not yet granted and may not be retroactively applied to previously granted concessions based on legally valid laws, rules and regulations."