Case Studies
Challenge: In 2016, the Minister of Natural Resources Guyana entered into a petroleum exploration venture with 3 companies. ExxonMobil, as primary operator, applied for and was granted an environmental permit by the Environmental Protection Agency. In 2017, the other two companies were granted Petroleum Production Licenses without any environmental permits from the EPA.
Community Action: Ramon Gaskin filed a judicial review against the Minister of Natural Resources, ExxonMobil Guyana Limited, Cnooc Petroleum Guyana Limited, Hess Guyana Exploration Limited, and the Environmental Protection Agency. He filed a Fixed Date Application in the High Court of Guyana to challenge the Minister’s decision and to prevent the licenses from being granted to Cnooc and Hess without the appropriate environmental permits.
This case was dismissed in the High Court and then brought before the Court of Appeal, where it was again dismissed. Before the Caribbean Court of Justice, the merit of the case was discussed, and eventually dismissed in 2024.
Although the judgements were not in favour of Gaskin, the legal case had the following impacts:
Exercised the provisions set within the Environmental Protection Act
Demonstrated application of the Escazú Agreement to a real issue
Raised the profile of the issue
“The appellant’s initiation and carriage of this litigation was therefore entirely consistent with the Escazu Agreement on Access to Information, Public Participation and Justice in Environmental Matters in Latin America and the Caribbean 2018, to which Guyana is a party. The Escazu Agreement aims to provide full public access to environmental information, encourage participation in environmental decision-making, and enable access to legal protection and recourse concerning environmental matters.”