Legislative pioneering on the Brazilian scenario: Carbogasous aquifer in Cambuquira - MG with ‘Subject of Law’ status
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.69469/derb.v45.822Keywords:
Groundwater, Environmental legislation, Municipal constitutional competence, EcocentrismAbstract
The current scenario of disregard for Nature in several locations on the planet and the most varied environmental damages require the use of several technical and legal instruments to contain and/or mitigate their adverse effects. The new Latin American constitutionalism emerges as the new paradigm of the nature rights, promoting environmental protection, prevention and preservation, favoring the adoption of ecocentrism in the legal framework. This innovative potential is strengthened with the enactment of Ordinary Law No. 2762, of March 15, 2024, in the municipality of Cambuquira - MG, Brazil, which declares the 'Healing Carbogasous Water Aquifer of the Water Circuit' as 'subject of law', providing a legislative pioneering by assigning this legal status to an 'aquifer'. The guiding objection of this work is 'Would this be a contradiction, a mistake or the evolution of Law towards full protection of the environment?', which is complemented by questions such as 'What constitutes a subject of law?' and 'Can an aquifer be a subject of law?', argued here based on legal and academic literature. Making a component of nature a subject of law demonstrates legal development and greater human-nature integration. In this context, being a subject of law means granting a non-human entity legal personality and the legitimacy to assert its legal rights through a Guardianship Committee, Legal Guardians established for this mission and composed of local representatives from different communities existing in the region and the Academy. It is a fact that the Aquifer of Healing Carbogasous Waters of the Water Circuit has the status of a subject of law, conferred by law, effectively making the groundwater of its territory visible. Although the effectiveness and practical effects of this law will be demonstrated over time, this legal precedent is extremely important for other Brazilian municipalities and international cities that contain groundwater reserves to legislate for the protection of their aquifers, reserves of the vital liquid for life, water.
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Copyright (c) 2024 Luciana Cordeiro de Souza-Fernandes, Alexandre Martins Fernandes
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
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