Transnational Environmental Law and Grass-Root Initiatives: The Case of the Latin American Water Tribunal

Citation

Olmos Giupponi MB (2016) Transnational Environmental Law and Grass-Root Initiatives: The Case of the Latin American Water Tribunal. Transnational Environmental Law, 5 (1), pp. 145-174. https://doi.org/10.1017/S204710251500014X

Abstract
This article analyzes the role played by the Latin American Water Tribunal (Tribunal Latinoamericano del Agua - TRAGUA) (LAWT) in the resolution of environmental disputes over water resources. Since its inception in 1998, the LAWT has emerged as a non-governmental body with a multidisciplinary composition and a mandate based on both formal and informal sources of law, which holds public hearings in order to address water-related complaints. This article explores whether (and the ways in which) the LAWT is contributing to the resolution of environmental disputes concerning water resources. The main underlying thesis is that, whereas the traditional model for interstate dispute settlement offers only limited possibilities of redress to non-state actors (mainly individuals and groups), the LAWT provides them with the opportunity to present their demands before an environmental justice forum.

Keywords
Right to water; Environmental justice; Environmental dispute settlement; Transnational environmental law; Latin American Water Tribunal; Water tribunals

Journal
Transnational Environmental Law: Volume 5, Issue 1