Approach to the Court of Justice of the Andean Community

On May 6, the agreement was signed between the University of Azuay and the Court of Justice of the Andean Community.

This court, which is based in Quito, is an integration body that belongs to the CAN (Andean Community of Nations), and deals with economic, commercial and immigration issues, as well as environmental care.

The member countries of the court are: Ecuador, Colombia, Bolivia and Peru, with Venezuela being a recently withdrawn member due to the political tensions that have occurred within the country.

The approach of the signed agreement is not specifically legal, since, although it has an emphasis on issues focused on the Chair of Law, it promotes commercial, cultural and educational relations between the institutions.

Ana María Bustos, Coordinator of the School of Law, mentions that the agreement may be interesting for other Schools, such as Biology or Environmental Engineering, due to its strong environmental focus.

The agreement consists of 10 points, which include internships for students and exchange of information between the Tribunal and the UDA.

For the moment, it is ensured that the internships will be virtual, since mobilization can be considered a problem.

Ana María Bustos adds that the Court, by having a large amount of documentation, will help students to establish research bases for the creation of future organizations and even the creation of new legal reforms.

The secretary of the Andean Court is Luis Felipe Aguilar, a former student of the UDA, which facilitated the signing of the agreement between both parties.

Dr. Bustos says that having a university alumnus occupy such an important position can motivate the next generation of career students to demonstrate the broad fields of work in which they can work.

Congress

The Law Coordinator added that on September 13, 14 and 15, the first International Congress of Andean Environmental Law will be held at the University of Azuay.

The month of September was chosen due to the coronavirus pandemic, in the hope that a face-to-face call can be given; however, Congress is planned to take place virtually.

It will seek to address different topics, specifically environmental, for all people who are interested, since it is not exclusive to Legal Sciences students.

Topics such as the Andean Environmental Charter, environmental rights such as good living from a social, cultural and economic aspect, the rights of indigenous peoples, environmental crimes, the ESCAZU treaty, corporate responsibility with the environment, among others, will be reviewed.

The congress will also have a discussion table addressed to all members of the institution.

Ana María Bustos concluded that the pandemic has caused us to forget about problems such as climate change or the loss of diversity and feels safe in saying that the future economic reactivation will probably forget about it, so she believes that it is of the utmost importance to treat these issues as soon as possible.

UDA Correspondent