Legal analysis: Peru's supreme court accepts community case against regional government

On 20 August 2018, Peru’s highest court, the Constitutional Tribunal, formally admitted the lawsuit filed by the Shipibo-Conibo community of Santa Clara de Uchunya against agencies of the Regional Government of Ucayali and the palm oil company Ocho Sur P SAC (formerly Plantaciones de Pucallpa SAC) for the unlawful dispossession, destruction and conversion of almost 7000 hectares of their ancestral forest lands. A final resolution of the case is now expected before the end of 2018.

Lawyers from the Institute of Legal Defence, the Peruvian human rights organisation representing the community, have highlighted four groundbreaking aspects of the decision which could lead to major reforms affecting indigenous land rights and forest protection in the Peruvian Amazon.

Read the legal analysis below (English only)