by Juan Manuel González | Oct 24, 2023 | Noticias-en
On October 12, 2023, the President of the Republic of Paraguay signed and promulgated Law 7190/2023 on Carbon Credits. The new regulations provide the country with a specific regulatory framework for the development of projects that generate carbon credits for their commercialization in international markets, whether mandatory or voluntary.
Among other provisions, the new law designates the Ministry of the Environment and Sustainable Development (MADES) as the enforcement authority and creates the national Carbon Credit Registry, which will seek to provide order and transparency to the local market and avoid double accounting of emissions reductions. . Likewise, the standard contemplates measures to safeguard compliance with Paraguay’s Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC), including the obligation to retain between 3 and 10% of the carbon credits generated by each project, and measures designed to promote knowledge transfer to Paraguayan professionals and technicians. In order to encourage national and foreign investment in local projects, the law grants certain legal protections to properties destined for projects under development, providing legal clarity to the ownership and transferability of carbon credits, and exonerating the Value Added Tax. (VAT) the transfer of these.
MADES, as the designated enforcement authority, is now tasked with regulating and implementing the specific procedures required in the new law and ensuring compliance therewith.
Paraguay, with its 16 million hectares of forests, with the accelerated increase in its forest plantations, and with its vast availability of clean and renewable hydroelectric energy, has enormous potential for the international carbon credit market, whose global value in In 2023 it is estimated at about 1.2 trillion dollars, an amount that is estimated could double in the next 5 years.
FERRERE advises local and foreign clients, including landowners, project developers, investors, specialized funds, and end buyers, in the most significant transactions in the carbon credit market in Paraguay.
For more information contact:
Carla Arellano | Counselor Ferrere | carellano@ferrere.com
by Juan Manuel González | Oct 23, 2023 | Noticias-en
Through Executive Decree No. 754 of May 31, 2023, President Guillermo Lasso reformed the Regulations to the Organic Code of the Environment (hereinafter, “RCODA”).
This reform is preceded by Sentence No. 22-18-IN/21 of September 8, 2021, in which the Constitutional Court: (i) Clarified that the environmental consultation and the prior consultation with indigenous communities are different consultations, and that Art. 184 of the CODA does not apply or replace the right to prior consultation of indigenous communities; (ii) Ordered that Art. 184 of the CODA must be interpreted according to the Constitution of the Republic, the jurisprudence of the Constitutional Court, and the Escazú Agreement;[1] (iii) Declared the unconstitutionality of Arts. 462 and 463 of the RCODA; and (iv) Ordered the President to adapt the RCODA to what was resolved. Subsequently, the aforementioned Court issued Ruling No. 1149-19-JP/21 of November 10, 2021, in which the right to environmental consultation was developed.
The main reforms carried out by Decree No. 754 are the following:
1. The citizen participation process is reformed. This will no longer be governed by the technical standard of the Environmental Authority but by that established in the RCODA, below. Furthermore, the majority opposition of those consulted is regulated, indicating that it is not binding. However, it is established that, if the environmental permit is granted despite majority opposition, it must be duly motivated.
2. All regulations in the RCODA regarding prior consultation with indigenous communities are repealed and Title III of Book III of the RCODA on the citizen participation process for environmental consultation is reformed:
2.1. It is established that the right to environmental consultation will consist of informing the community “about the content of the environmental technical instruments, the possible environmental impacts and risks that could arise from the execution of the projects, works or activities, as well as the relevance of the actions to be taken”, record and compile your criteria, opinions and observations, and thereby consult you about the granting of the corresponding environmental permit.
2.2. It is added that the rules on the citizen participation process for environmental consultation are mandatory and apply in the case of an environmental license, always, and in the case of environmental registration for activities in the hydrocarbon and mining sector.
23. It is established that the citizen participation process for environmental consultation must be carried out prior to the granting of environmental permits. Additionally, the following changes are added to the process:
2.3.1. The Ombudsman’s Office must be notified so that this entity can proceed to provide support to the community and monitor the process. Your participation is mandatory, however, your unjustified absence will not lead to the nullity of the process.
2.3.2. The operator of the project, work or activity must deliver to the competent Environmental Authority the technical environmental instruments that it requires, as well as all the communication materials or supplies for the didactic dissemination of such instruments (e.g. summaries, brochures, slides, etc. ). All deliverables must be translated, when applicable.
2.3.3. To carry out the process, citizen participation mechanisms will be used, including the following: (i) Information mechanisms (e.g. information assemblies, electronic pages, information videos, delivery of information documentation on environmental technical instruments, public information centers, workshops of environmental socialization; (ii) Call mechanisms (e.g. public call, personal invitations); and (iii) Consultation mechanisms (Consultation Assembly).
2.3.4. Special provisions are included to consider when the consultation is carried out in the territories of indigenous peoples: provisions related to their ancestral languages and their forms of organization and decision-making.
2.3.5. The operator of the project, work or activity will be the one who must finance the environmental consultation process, its call and the logistics. He must also provide all the facilities and provide all the resources necessary for its execution.
2.3.6. The process will be divided into two phases: (i) Information Phase and (ii) Consultative Phase. In the first, the delivery of information occurs. In the second, a dialogue takes place between the State and the community in order to present the opinions and observations of the community and consult regarding the issuance of the environmental permit.
3. The validity of all environmental permits that were issued before the reform is ratified. On the other hand, any project, work or activity registered in the SUIA until October 11, 2021 will follow the process prior to the reform. This reform will continue the processes initiated at a later date, even if they have received a technical ruling, as well as the projects, works and activities of the mining sector blocked in the SUIA by Sentence No. 1149-19-JP/21.
For more information contact:
Maria Rosa Fabara | Partner Bustamante Fabara | mrfabara@bustamantefabara.com
by Juan Manuel González | Oct 23, 2023 | Noticias-en
The case that we discuss on this occasion is related to a minimum services pact agreed between a company and its union organizations.
Indeed, based on the collective autonomy of the parties, they autonomously decided to enter into a minimum services agreement whose purpose is to maintain certain types of operations in the event of a possible stoppage due to a strike.
In the specific situation to which we allude, one of the unions contemplated in its statutes that its board of directors was made up of four leaders, however, at the time of reaching the minimum services agreement, only two of these remained in force. For this reason, the respective instrument was celebrated, with only the leaders who had the status of active workers on that date signing it.
Once the agreement was reached, the respective agreement was deposited with the Labor Inspection, which issued a resolution rejecting said management and not validating the document signed between the parties, because, in the opinion of the labor administrative authority, it did not satisfy its criteria and standards.
It is against said resolution of the Labor Inspection that the company filed a lawsuit in court, questioning the actions of said department for assuming powers that it does not have.
Therefore, the underlying discussion of this case is, What is the degree of interference that the Labor Directorate can have with respect to a minimum services agreement that has been achieved autonomously and freely between the employer and its union organizations?
The ruling expresses clearly and emphatically (case Rit I-93-2023 of the 1st Labor Court of Santiago) that “Article 360 of the Labor Code, regarding the agreement that union organizations can reach in relation to the matter, has contemplated that the only intervention of the Labor Directorate in the process is to be the depositary of the agreement. Unlike what is provided for in article 223 of the Labor Code, it has not provided powers with respect to this body to make observations to the instrument in the sub-lite case.”
It continues, “It is up to the state bodies to be subject, without exception and in all their actions, to the constitutional norm of article 7 and no other powers can be attributed than those contemplated in the fundamental text and the laws that have been issued in accordance to her. The defendant does not justify sufficiently under the normative assumption that active conduct is justified regarding the questioning of the legitimacy of the instrument that has been delivered to her for collection.”
This is a pronouncement of utmost importance since it clearly delimits the degree of intervention that the Labor Directorate can have regarding a minimum services agreement concluded between the employer and its unions, and restricts any possibility of objecting to it, repairing it or refusing to have it. by deposited, since its role is not predominant when there is a direct agreement between the parties.
For more information you can contact :
Francisca Franzani | Compliance Group Director | ffranzani@az.cl
by Juan Manuel González | Oct 16, 2023 | Noticias-en
A few weeks ago, various Hotels and Casinos in Las Vegas reported being victims of a cyber attack that left serious damage to their operations and large losses. Las Vegas is undoubtedly one of the cities with the highest tourist traffic, with an impressive offer of shows and activities that have caused not only the Casinos, but also its hotels to become world references.
The level of engineering and sophistication with which their companies are developed, anyone would imagine, is one of the highest and that is precisely why the cyber attack suffered generated not only surprise but also concern worldwide. According to what was narrated, reservation data was lost, phantom charges were made to guests, rooms that depended on the system were unusable, communications were lost, among other consequences.
This leads us to ask ourselves: Is the tourism sector prepared to face a cyber attack? How protected are our systems? Are we able to detect these attacks in a reasonable time? What do we do once an attack occurs? Who do we turn to? What can we do to protect ourselves?
The Peruvian scenario has not been free of these questions; our legislation has for some time established criminal sanctions to confront computer crimes. For example, anyone who deliberately and illegitimately damages, introduces, deletes, deteriorates, alters, deletes or makes computer data inaccessible is punished with a prison sentence of up to 6 years. However, the success of a criminal investigation will depend largely on the possibility of identifying these hackers, who are experts in hiding the origin of their connections and any other data that may identify them.
What is the answer then? Well, in the face of this growing threat, what we can do is prepare, strengthen our systems, create new policies, train personnel, have accurate diagnoses and seek to be updated.
Only preparation for what could present itself as a crisis is what will allow us to keep safe the data that we protect, that of the company, that of our workers and clients, and provide tourists with what they expect so much, a pleasant experience. no negative surprises.
For more information contact:
Mario Pinatte | CPB Partner | mpinatte@cpb-abogados.com.pe
by Juan Manuel González | Oct 12, 2023 | Noticias-en
The “Federal Cybersecurity Law” initiative presented by deputy Javier Joaquín López Casarín in April 2023, proposes the creation of a legal and operational framework for new cybersecurity authorities and the definition of crimes, homologated with those provided for in the Budapest Convention .
The Budapest Convention of the Council of Europe of 2001 aims to establish an international legal framework for cooperation on cybercrime. Mexico only has the status of observer country, since it has not ratified the Convention. The States Parties must implement two specific issues: i) Classification of crimes related to cybersecurity and ii) Give the competent authorities tools and powers to investigate and punish the commission of these crimes.
In this sense, the bill proposes the creation of new crimes and institutions such as the “National Cybersecurity Agency” and a prosecutor’s office specialized in cybercrimes. In addition, it grants powers in cybersecurity to the Secretariat of National Defense and the Secretariat of the Navy, and proposes the appointment of judges specialized in this area.
The bill also establishes obligations for individuals, among others, the notification of cybersecurity incidents, the presence of a legal representative in Mexico, and creating response units for cybersecurity incidents.
This initiative is currently in the Chamber of Deputies in the United Commissions on Citizen Security, and Science, Technology and Innovation for an opinion. Therefore, if a favorable opinion is obtained, it could be discussed in the Chamber of Deputies in the current period of sessions that runs from September 1 to December 15. Likewise, civil society and private industry have expressed concerns about the possible human rights violations that its implementation could generate. The proposed law would substantially modify the legal framework for authorities and private individuals, so its discussion must be closely followed. The information technology and data protection area is at your service.
For more information contact:
Juan José López de Silanes | Partner Basham, Ringe and Correa | lopez_de_silanes@basham.com.mx
by Juan Manuel González | Oct 10, 2023 | Noticias-en
The transfer of employees and expatriates to Guatemala is a fundamental process for multinational companies that wish to operate in this Central American country. However, this process is subject to a series of immigration regulations and requirements that can be complex. In this text, we will address the most frequently asked questions that multinational companies usually ask when it comes to transferring employees to Guatemala. From the need to establish a legal presence in the country to the hiring rates of expatriate employees and the different types of residency available, we will explore the key aspects that must be considered to ensure a successful and compliant relocation process in Guatemala.
1. Is it necessary to have a legal presence of the entity in Guatemala for the transfer of expatriate employees?
Legal presence in Guatemala if necessary, which can be achieved through its own branch or subsidiary or through outsourcing.
2. What are the percentages that the entity must meet for hiring expatriate employees in Guatemala?
You can hire up to a maximum of 10% of foreigners and pay them up to a maximum of 15% of the total salaries, giving priority to Guatemalans, but there are exceptional cases where the above does not apply.
3. For what positions can a work permit for foreigners be requested?
For positions of trust such as Managers, directors, General Managers, Administrators and Superintendents, which are exempt from the percentages indicated in the previous question;
For jobs in which there are no Guatemalan personnel trained to fill that position.
4. Until when can I include the foreign worker on the payroll?
Until obtaining the resolution of the work permit.
5. What is the estimated period to include the expatriate worker on the payroll?
It is 1 to 2 months from when the residency file is submitted to the Guatemalan Migration Institute.
6. Prior to the expatriate’s entry into Guatemala, can I start the residency or work permit process?
It is not possible, it is necessary that the foreigner be in Guatemala to begin the processes.
7. What is the period that a foreigner can stay in Guatemala with a traveler or tourist visa?
Without a residency in process, up to a maximum of 90 days, with a tourist or traveler visa that can be extended for the same period.
8. What categories of permanent residences can a foreigner choose?
Permanent residence for foreigners who have been temporary residents for more than 5 years.
Permanent residence for being a relative of a Guatemalan person within the limits of the law.
Permanent residence for rentier or pensioner.
Permanent residence for foreigners who have been married for one year or more or declared a de facto union with a Guatemalan person.
Permanent Residence for those born in other Central American countries when they have been temporary residents for more than one year.
9. What is the difference between the two visas per residence file in process (single or multiple visa)?
The simple visa allows one exit and one entry to Guatemala while the residency is in process.
The multiple visa allows you to leave and enter Guatemala unlimitedly for 90 days.
10. If an expatriate is transferred to Guatemala for a period of less than one year, should temporary residence be requested?
Yes, it is necessary to proceed with obtaining residency.
For more information you can contact:
Juan Carlos Tristán | BLP Partner | jtristan@blplegal.com