Five more good reasons to prohibit the transit of highly radioactive and radio-toxic material through the national territory and exclusive economic zone of the Republic of Panama by the Civil Society Initiative for the Environment (ISCA)
11. Article 17 of the Constitution establishes that the authority of the Republic is instituted to protect the life, dignity and property of members of society; while Articles 114 and 115 of said Magna Carta establish the State's duty to guarantee the population a healthy environment, and to promote a social and economic development that prevents pollution of the environment, maintains the ecological balance and avoids the destruction of ecosystems; and Article 309 submits questions about the use of the Canal to the Constitution, the Law and the Canal's Administration.
12. Article 4 of the General Environmental Law (Law 410 of 1998) establishes, as national environmental policy principles guidelines, the State's duty to give the population an environment that's healthy and adequate for sustainable life and development; to guarantee the efficient and effective coordination among social sectors for the protection, conservation, improvement and restoration of environmental quality; and to incorporate the environmental dimension in the State's decisons, actions, and social, economic and cultural strategies, integrating the national environmental policy in conjunction with the State's public policies.
13. Article 57 of the Organic Law of the Panama Canal Authority (Law 19 of 1997) obliges that institution to prevent and control disasters, protect environmental health and demand insurance coverage of the ships that transit the canal; while Article 120 obliges it to administer the water resources for the canal's functioning and to supply water for the consumption of adjacent populations, safeguarding the natural resources of the canal watershed and especially of its critical areas, with the aim of avoiding the diminishment of water supplies.
14. Article 9 of the Regulations for the Navigatio of Panama Canal Waters (Accord 13 of June 3, 1999) obliges the Panama Canal Authority to prevent incidents, actions and accidents of a dangerous nature during the navigation of canal waters, including those related to disasters and the transit of dangerous cargo, while Article 139 demands that ships that transport radioactive cargo certify their economic solvency to indemnify the Republic of Panama, the Panama Canal Authority or any other entity for damages anbd losses in the event of an accident involving radioactive cargo.
15. There is a great juridical vacuum on the subject of compensation. Of the States involved in the transit of radioactive cargo thorugh the canal --- Japan, France and the United Kingdom --- only the latter two are parties to the 1960 Paris Convention on liability for nuclear energy, while none of them are party to the 1963 Vienna Convention on civil liability for nuclear damages or the 1988 Joint Protocol on the application of those two conventions, and only France is a party to the 1971 convention on civil liability for maritime transportation of nuclear materials. The Republic of Panama is not a party to any of these international agreements.
ISCA:
- Asociaciones Cívicas Unidas para la Reforestación de Panamá (ACU)
- Asociación Oceánica de Panamá (AOP)
- Asociación Verde de Panamá (ASVEPA)
- Centro de Asistencia Legal Popular (CEALP)
- Centro de Estudios y Acción Social Panameño (CEASPA)
- Asociación Derecho y Ecología (DEECO)
- Defensa Ambiental
- Fundación para el Desarrollo de la Libertad Ciudadana
- Sociedad Audubon de Panamá (SAP)
- Unión de Ciudadanas de Panamá (UCP)
- Observer: Comisión de Justicia y Paz Go to our sections..,
