Transboundary Environmental Impact Assessment in Chile

Abstract

In international law, the obligation to carry out a transboundary environmental impact assessment (TEIA) is considered a general customary obligation, which constitutes a legal and material consequence of the no harm rule to other States, which is an expression of the principle of due diligence. This obligation is binding on all States, including Chile. However, in our country there is no substantive regulation on this issue and the only progress is an instruction by the environmental authority. Therefore, this article aims to analyze the way in which the TEIA has been treated in our country in accordance with decisions of international tribunals and legal doctrine, concluding that it does not fulfill the international obligation, nor does it allow an adequate domestic regulation of TEIA.