Slow justice and other unexpected consequences of litigation in environmental conflicts

Autores
Conde, Marta; Walter, Mariana; Wagner, Lucrecia Soledad; Navas, Grettel
Año de publicación
2023
Idioma
inglés
Tipo de recurso
artículo
Estado
versión publicada
Descripción
Movements are increasingly taking companies to court for environmental and social harms. Yet little is known about the consequences this strategy has for movements and their struggles. Through a cross-country comparison of three environmental litigation cases in Argentina, Nicaragua, and Spain, we find that local groups encounter three interrelated consequences: i) ‘slow justice’, a strategy generally driven by companies to delay proceedings and demobilize movements; ii) courts reduce complex impacts to simplified, scientifically verifiable and legally punishable damages, thus invisibilizing certain harms, victims, narratives and demands; and iii) local groups lose control of the resistance process as judges and lawyers become key decision-makers. These dynamics interact with the specific features of environmental conflicts —uncertainty, slow violence and marginalized affected parties— to deepen power inequalities in litigation processes. Our findings are contextualized within the literatures on legal mobilization and the judicialization of politics. We conclude that social movements, when looking for a fair and just solution through the judicial system, encounter different but highly hierarchical power structures. And even if they win in the courts, companies can avoid complying with the judicial orders.
Fil: Conde, Marta. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; España. Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Departament de Ciències Polítiques I Socials; España. The University of Queensland; Australia
Fil: Walter, Mariana. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; España. Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Departament de Ciències Polítiques I Socials; España
Fil: Wagner, Lucrecia Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; Argentina
Fil: Navas, Grettel. Universidad de Chile; Chile
Materia
SLOW JUSTICE
LITIGATION
ENVIRONMENTAL CONFLICTS
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
Nivel de accesibilidad
acceso abierto
Condiciones de uso
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ar/
Repositorio
CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Institución
Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
OAI Identificador
oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/251416
Acceder
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network_name_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
spelling Slow justice and other unexpected consequences of litigation in environmental conflictsConde, MartaWalter, MarianaWagner, Lucrecia SoledadNavas, GrettelSLOW JUSTICELITIGATIONENVIRONMENTAL CONFLICTSENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICEhttps://purl.org/becyt/ford/5.9https://purl.org/becyt/ford/5Movements are increasingly taking companies to court for environmental and social harms. Yet little is known about the consequences this strategy has for movements and their struggles. Through a cross-country comparison of three environmental litigation cases in Argentina, Nicaragua, and Spain, we find that local groups encounter three interrelated consequences: i) ‘slow justice’, a strategy generally driven by companies to delay proceedings and demobilize movements; ii) courts reduce complex impacts to simplified, scientifically verifiable and legally punishable damages, thus invisibilizing certain harms, victims, narratives and demands; and iii) local groups lose control of the resistance process as judges and lawyers become key decision-makers. These dynamics interact with the specific features of environmental conflicts —uncertainty, slow violence and marginalized affected parties— to deepen power inequalities in litigation processes. Our findings are contextualized within the literatures on legal mobilization and the judicialization of politics. We conclude that social movements, when looking for a fair and just solution through the judicial system, encounter different but highly hierarchical power structures. And even if they win in the courts, companies can avoid complying with the judicial orders.Fil: Conde, Marta. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; España. Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Departament de Ciències Polítiques I Socials; España. The University of Queensland; AustraliaFil: Walter, Mariana. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; España. Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Departament de Ciències Polítiques I Socials; EspañaFil: Wagner, Lucrecia Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; ArgentinaFil: Navas, Grettel. Universidad de Chile; ChileElsevier2023-12info:eu-repo/semantics/articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersionhttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501info:ar-repo/semantics/articuloapplication/pdfapplication/pdfhttp://hdl.handle.net/11336/251416Conde, Marta; Walter, Mariana; Wagner, Lucrecia Soledad; Navas, Grettel; Slow justice and other unexpected consequences of litigation in environmental conflicts; Elsevier; Global Environmental Change; 83; 12-2023; 1-100959-3780CONICET DigitalCONICETenginfo:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0959378023001280info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2023.102762info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccesshttps://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ar/reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas2025-09-29T09:37:18Zoai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/251416instacron:CONICETInstitucionalhttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/Organismo científico-tecnológicoNo correspondehttp://ri.conicet.gov.ar/oai/requestdasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.arArgentinaNo correspondeNo correspondeNo correspondeopendoar:34982025-09-29 09:37:19.284CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicasfalse
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Slow justice and other unexpected consequences of litigation in environmental conflicts
title Slow justice and other unexpected consequences of litigation in environmental conflicts
spellingShingle Slow justice and other unexpected consequences of litigation in environmental conflicts
Conde, Marta
SLOW JUSTICE
LITIGATION
ENVIRONMENTAL CONFLICTS
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
title_short Slow justice and other unexpected consequences of litigation in environmental conflicts
title_full Slow justice and other unexpected consequences of litigation in environmental conflicts
title_fullStr Slow justice and other unexpected consequences of litigation in environmental conflicts
title_full_unstemmed Slow justice and other unexpected consequences of litigation in environmental conflicts
title_sort Slow justice and other unexpected consequences of litigation in environmental conflicts
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Conde, Marta
Walter, Mariana
Wagner, Lucrecia Soledad
Navas, Grettel
author Conde, Marta
author_facet Conde, Marta
Walter, Mariana
Wagner, Lucrecia Soledad
Navas, Grettel
author_role author
author2 Walter, Mariana
Wagner, Lucrecia Soledad
Navas, Grettel
author2_role author
author
author
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv SLOW JUSTICE
LITIGATION
ENVIRONMENTAL CONFLICTS
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
topic SLOW JUSTICE
LITIGATION
ENVIRONMENTAL CONFLICTS
ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE
purl_subject.fl_str_mv https://purl.org/becyt/ford/5.9
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/5
dc.description.none.fl_txt_mv Movements are increasingly taking companies to court for environmental and social harms. Yet little is known about the consequences this strategy has for movements and their struggles. Through a cross-country comparison of three environmental litigation cases in Argentina, Nicaragua, and Spain, we find that local groups encounter three interrelated consequences: i) ‘slow justice’, a strategy generally driven by companies to delay proceedings and demobilize movements; ii) courts reduce complex impacts to simplified, scientifically verifiable and legally punishable damages, thus invisibilizing certain harms, victims, narratives and demands; and iii) local groups lose control of the resistance process as judges and lawyers become key decision-makers. These dynamics interact with the specific features of environmental conflicts —uncertainty, slow violence and marginalized affected parties— to deepen power inequalities in litigation processes. Our findings are contextualized within the literatures on legal mobilization and the judicialization of politics. We conclude that social movements, when looking for a fair and just solution through the judicial system, encounter different but highly hierarchical power structures. And even if they win in the courts, companies can avoid complying with the judicial orders.
Fil: Conde, Marta. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; España. Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Departament de Ciències Polítiques I Socials; España. The University of Queensland; Australia
Fil: Walter, Mariana. Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona; España. Universitat Pompeu Fabra. Departament de Ciències Polítiques I Socials; España
Fil: Wagner, Lucrecia Soledad. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Provincia de Mendoza. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Instituto Argentino de Nivología, Glaciología y Ciencias Ambientales; Argentina
Fil: Navas, Grettel. Universidad de Chile; Chile
description Movements are increasingly taking companies to court for environmental and social harms. Yet little is known about the consequences this strategy has for movements and their struggles. Through a cross-country comparison of three environmental litigation cases in Argentina, Nicaragua, and Spain, we find that local groups encounter three interrelated consequences: i) ‘slow justice’, a strategy generally driven by companies to delay proceedings and demobilize movements; ii) courts reduce complex impacts to simplified, scientifically verifiable and legally punishable damages, thus invisibilizing certain harms, victims, narratives and demands; and iii) local groups lose control of the resistance process as judges and lawyers become key decision-makers. These dynamics interact with the specific features of environmental conflicts —uncertainty, slow violence and marginalized affected parties— to deepen power inequalities in litigation processes. Our findings are contextualized within the literatures on legal mobilization and the judicialization of politics. We conclude that social movements, when looking for a fair and just solution through the judicial system, encounter different but highly hierarchical power structures. And even if they win in the courts, companies can avoid complying with the judicial orders.
publishDate 2023
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2023-12
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersion
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
info:ar-repo/semantics/articulo
format article
status_str publishedVersion
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv http://hdl.handle.net/11336/251416
Conde, Marta; Walter, Mariana; Wagner, Lucrecia Soledad; Navas, Grettel; Slow justice and other unexpected consequences of litigation in environmental conflicts; Elsevier; Global Environmental Change; 83; 12-2023; 1-10
0959-3780
CONICET Digital
CONICET
url http://hdl.handle.net/11336/251416
identifier_str_mv Conde, Marta; Walter, Mariana; Wagner, Lucrecia Soledad; Navas, Grettel; Slow justice and other unexpected consequences of litigation in environmental conflicts; Elsevier; Global Environmental Change; 83; 12-2023; 1-10
0959-3780
CONICET Digital
CONICET
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv eng
language eng
dc.relation.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/url/https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0959378023001280
info:eu-repo/semantics/altIdentifier/doi/10.1016/j.gloenvcha.2023.102762
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ar/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/2.5/ar/
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
application/pdf
dc.publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
publisher.none.fl_str_mv Elsevier
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
instname:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
reponame_str CONICET Digital (CONICET)
collection CONICET Digital (CONICET)
instname_str Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.name.fl_str_mv CONICET Digital (CONICET) - Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
repository.mail.fl_str_mv dasensio@conicet.gov.ar; lcarlino@conicet.gov.ar
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score 13.070432

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