The «dirimente» jurisdiction of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Argentine Nation

From de facto hostilities to environmental conflict in intra-federal relations

Abstract

The «dirimente» jurisdiction exercised by the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation it is a mechanism to solve intra-federal conflicts. It was designed by the Constituent Assembly of 1853. The Purpose was to avoid armed conflicts between the Argentine provinces. It was used to resolve a conflict related to the use of an interprovincial river in 1987, in recent years it has been opened for the management of environmental conflicts derived from the exercise of provincial powers over their natural resources that affect interjurisdictional hydrographic basins and challenge Argentine federalism. It is a special process with broad powers of the Court and the predominant exercise of conciliatory functions with the participation of interjurisdictional entities and in some cases with the participation of the national government as an interested third party. The judicial resolutions are exhortative in nature, although in the absence of an agreement, the applicable law to the conflict must be decided according to the jurisdiction of judicial cases.