TRF1 court rulings protect quilombola rights in Brazil

The Federal Regional Court of the 1st Region (TRF1) has issued rulings to safeguard the rights of quilombola communities in Mato Grosso and Maranhão.

In Mato Grosso, the court unanimously annulled the approval of hydroelectric inventory studies for the Jauquara River. The decision, which rejected appeals from the Union, Aneel, and Prospecto Participações e Negócios, mandates new socio-environmental studies and prior, free, and informed consultation with affected communities. The court emphasized that such consultations must occur before the approval of inventories, in accordance with ILO Convention 169, as the inventory phase carries decisive weight for project implementation.

In Maranhão, the court upheld a 180-day deadline for the National Institute for Colonization and Agrarian Reform (Incra) to complete the Technical Report of Identification and Demarcation (RTID) for the Cariongo community in Santa Rita. This ruling addresses a delay exceeding a decade, with the court determining that judicial intervention is necessary due to the executive branch's unjustified omission, despite Incra's claims of budgetary and administrative constraints.