SUBMISSION OF AMICI

This submission by Fundación Pachamama and the International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD) argues that the arbitration tribunal in the case of Chevron Corporation and Texaco Petroleum Company v. Republic of Ecuador lacks jurisdiction and that the claims are non-justiciable. The Amici contend that Chevron is attempting to use an investor-State tribunal to interfere with and terminate an ongoing domestic civil law case (the Lago Agrio litigation) in Ecuador, which would violate the rights of private plaintiffs, including indigenous peoples, to a fair judicial process.

• The Amici argue that Chevron is seeking to use the arbitration tribunal to effectively terminate a domestic civil law case in Ecuador in which the Government of Ecuador is not a party, which would turn the tribunal into an 'instant appellate court' or a 'contemporaneous supervisory tribunal' over private proceedings.
• Chevron's requested relief includes declarations that it has no liability for environmental impact or human health issues arising from the former Consortium, that any judgment in the Lago Agrio Litigation is not enforceable, and that Ecuador is exclusively liable for any such judgment.
• The Amici assert that the tribunal lacks jurisdiction under the U.S.–Ecuador BIT because of the 'principle of finality,' which requires that local means of redress be exhausted through the highest appealable court before a state can be held internationally liable for judicial conduct.
• The submission highlights that the Lago Agrio plaintiffs include indigenous peoples who have historically faced significant barriers to justice, including language difficulties, poverty, and discrimination, and that the requested orders would extinguish their rights to an impartial judicial process.
• The Amici argue that the dispute is non-justiciable because it is not 'ripe'; the injuries claimed by Chevron are speculative as no first-instance judgment has been rendered in the Lago Agrio case.
• The submission contends that accepting jurisdiction would create a conflict with international law, specifically Ecuador's obligations to protect its citizens' rights to a judicial remedy, as outlined in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties and various human rights instruments.
• The Amici suggest that Chevron's use of arbitration in this context parallels 'strategic lawsuits against public participation' (SLAPP suits), intended to intimidate the state into interfering with private civil proceedings.

APA

International Institute for Sustainable Development (2010). SUBMISSION OF AMICI. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/submission_amici_pachamama_chevron.pdf

Chicago

International Institute for Sustainable Development. SUBMISSION OF AMICI. 2010. https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/submission_amici_pachamama_chevron.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=International Institute for Sustainable Development |title=SUBMISSION OF AMICI |date=5 November 2010 |url=https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/submission_amici_pachamama_chevron.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{internationalinstituteforsustainabledevelopment2010submission, author = {{International Institute for Sustainable Development}}, title = {{SUBMISSION OF AMICI}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2010}, month = nov, url = {https://www.iisd.org/system/files/publications/submission_amici_pachamama_chevron.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }