On October 9th, 2024, the Supreme Court resolved an appeal filed by the Federal Executive, the Congress of the Union and the Ministry of Economy, as responsible authorities, which was filed against a judgment issued by a District Court, through which the Fifth Transitory Article of the Decree that reformed, among others, the Mining Law, was challenged.
That judgment protected the plaintiff against such transitory article and ordered those authorities not to apply such legal provision to his detriment; for which reason such authorities decided to file the appeal for review against that judgment.
It should be noted that the Fifth Transitory Article in question establishes that the applications in process for the granting of new mining exploration and exploitation concessions must be rejected.
In this sense, the Supreme Court confirmed the sentence issued by the District Judge, and resolved that such transitory provision violates the principle of non-retroactivity of those who had filed their concession request prior to the reform, and therefore, ordered the competent authority, in this case, the Ministry of Economy, through the General Directorate of Mines, to process his application in accordance with the legislation in force at the time it was filed, without applying the provisions of the Fifth Transitory Article of the new law, which provides precisely for the rejection of such applications.
This appeal is the first appeal that the Supreme Court has resolved against the reform to the Mining Law, published on May 8, 2023.
This decision of the Court sets an important precedent for the application of the current Mining Law, since it is recognizing that the violation of such law to the principle of non-retroactivity of the law, establishing that applications filed before the entry into force of a new law must be resolved in accordance with the rules in force at the time of filing.
