Peru's Supreme Court ruled Aug. 16 that decrees on application of the Prior Consultation Law [6] recently issued by the Energy and Mines Ministry [7] are unconstitutional. The legal challenge was brought by the nongovernmental Legal Defense Institute (IDL [8]), which argued that the Ministry's guidelines called for "informational workshops" rather than a decision-making process. The high court agreed that the guidelines failed to conform with the International Labor Organization [9]'s Convention 169 [10], which outlines standards for the rights of indigenous peoples. Peru ratified Convention 169 in 1994. The guidelines, principally concerning oil and mineral development, are voided by the ruling. (Gestión via No a la Mina [11], Aug. 17; La Republica [12], Aug. 16)
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