The chilean supreme court’s approach to cassation appeals in environmental matters

Abstract

Article 26 of Act No. 20,600 provides that a cassation appeal–on both substantive and procedural grounds–may be brought against final judgments rendered in proceedings within the jurisdiction of the Environmental Courts. Since 2017, the Supreme Court has progessively restricted the admisibility of cassation appeals against judgments issued by the Environmental Courts, on the basis that only rulings addresing the substantive merits of administrative acts qualify as final judgments for the purpose of cassation. As a result, both the Environmental Courts and the Courts of Appeal have undergone a process of adaptation to this jurisprudential develpment. However, this has been contentious. It is reflected, for instance, in the reluctance of the Courts of Appeal to overturn Environmental Courts rulings; and in the uncertainty faced by litigants in determining –on a case-by-case basis– the appropriate remedy to pursue.