Led by Sea Shepherd's legal advisor for Galapagos, Hugo Echeverría, on September 20, 2010 Sea Shepherd Conservation Society, World Wildlife Fund and Conservation International, presented to PROJUSTICIA (a technical unit of the Ministry of Justice working on the modernization of the judicial system) a legal brief justifying the need to create a Specialized Judiciary on Rights for Nature in the province of Galapagos, Ecuador. This initiative has the support of the Galapagos National Park Directorate, who is the administrative and management authority of the National Park and the Galapagos Marine Reserve. The need for establishing specialized judicial bodies in Galapagos is justified by the extraordinary natural heritage of the islands, which is protected by national legislation and international environmental treaties. In this context, the Galapagos special legislation provides for a leading role of the Judicial System, particularly on ecological crimes, for which it is necessary to have a specialized judiciary. In 2008, Ecuador became the first country to recognize nature as a subject of rights. The Constitution of the Republic of Ecuador recognizes the rights of nature to be respected and restored. In 2009, the Organic Code of the Judicial Function was created, which specifically provides for the creation of special judiciaries to address claims on violation of the rights of nature. The Law authorizes its establishment by the Consejo de la Judicatura, the country's Judicial Council. Worldwide, there are some experiences of creating specialized judicial bodies. However, none of them can be compared with special judiciaries under the Code of Judicial Function of Ecuador, since this rule responds to a unique constitutional context: the recognition of rights to nature. With the creation of specialized judiciaries, Ecuador could lead this new global trend. The petitioners have requested PROJUSTICIA to inform this initiative to Consejo de la Judicatura of Ecuador, for purposes of analyzing the creation of the first Specialized Judiciary on Rights for Nature in the country. Sea Shepherd
