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What did the Constitutional Court decide in the Oxec case (2017)?

According to the cited documentsSocial licence

CC Oxec judgment

26 May 2017; consultation within 12 months without suspending operation

2017MEM

At the Oxec and Oxec II hydropower plants (Cahabón river, Alta Verapaz), after the amparo for failure to consult the Q'eqchi' people (admitted by the Supreme Court (CSJ) on 22 April 2016, CSJ judgment of 4 January 2017), the Constitutional Court (CC) ruled on May 26, 2017 (joined cases 90-2017, 91-2017 and 92-2017) that an omitted consultation can be cured after the fact: it let operations continue on condition the consultation be held within 12 months, and urged Congress to legislate within a year. It is the first CC ruling to order and structure a C169 consultation with a deadline, the 'operate while consulting' precedent.

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Sources

  • MEM

    Sentencia Oxec y Oxec II

    • CC Oxec judgment
    site.mem.gob.gtAccessed Aug 19, 2026Go to the source
  • IURISTEC

    Ficha sentencia acumulados 90-2017, 91-2017 y 92-2017

    iuristec.com.gtAccessed Aug 19, 2026Go to the source
  • Litigio Climático

    Ficha Comunidad indígena Q'eqchi' vs MEM

    litigioclimatico.comAccessed Aug 19, 2026Go to the source