State Attorney says award did not favor Chevron

Diego Garcia

Diego Garcia, the state attorney general, denied yesterday that Chevron was freed by the Court of Arbitration in The Hague regarding its responsibility in a case of environmental pollution in the Amazon, as reported by the U.S. company.

Last Wednesday, The Hague issued a partial ruling that highlights the Harmless Agreements that the Government of Ecuador signed with Chevron (Texaco) and that exempts them from liability for “any collective environmental claim,” said the American company.

In a bulletin of the Prosecution said the court has not given that choice. “For the court, the agreement refers to claims that the State might arise in the exercise of their own rights and not to claims by third parties that could act independently of the State regardless of their individual rights,” said the document.

According to the agency, “the court considered appropriate not to approach this issue regarding the claims of the plaintiffs of Lago Agrio who sought the retribution of their individual rights, or those apart or from both.”

Upon issuance of such partial award concludes the first of two phases in which the litigation was divided by the court.