A SCHEMATIC APPRAISAL OF JURISPRUDENCE OF INTER AMERICAN COURT ON
  INDIGENOUS PEOPLES’  RIGHTS 
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CASE 
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FACTS 
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JUDGEMENT 
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ANALYSIS OF DECISION 
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COMPARATIVE
  JURISPRUDENCE & INTL INSTR. CITED 
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Awas Tingni v. Nicaragua 
(Judgment of 31.8. 2001) 
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Awas Tingni is indigenous to Nicaragua’s Atlantic coastal
  region. The community held its ancestral territory for hundreds of years as
  collectivity. In 1995 the Awas Tingni learned of the Nicaragua government’s plan to
  grant a logging license to Korean lumber company SOLCARSA on more than 62,000
  hectares of the community’s homeland. Although the Nicaragua Constitution
  concedes “equal protection” under law for indigenous communities, the
  government claimed that the Awas Tingni had neither legal title nor ancestral
  right to the land in question.  
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Right to judicial protection (art. 25 read together
  with art. 1(1) and 2); right to property (art.21) violated. IACtHR refused to
  find violation of right to life (4), privacy (11), conscience and religion
  (12), association (16), family (17), movement and residency (22) and right to
  participate in govt. (23). IACtHR ordered for delimitation demarcation and
  titling of Awas Tingni territory, legal reform, reparation (US$ 50,000),
  Costs (US$ 30,000) 
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-IACtHR uses “an evolutionary interpretation of
  international instruments for the protection of human rights, and takes into account
  norms of interpretation including article 29(b) of the Convention -which
  precludes a restrictive interpretation of rights to find that article 21 of
  the Convention protects the right to property “in a sense which includes,
  among others, the rights of members of the indigenous communities within the
  framework of communal property” (¶ 148). 
  
-Court
  defines property as “those material things which can be possessed, as well as
  any right which may be part of a person’s patrimony; that concept includes
  all movables and immovable, corporeal and incorporeal elements and any other
  intangible object capable of having value” (¶ 144). 
  
-Court
  recognizes that property notions founded on individual ownership must be
  adjusted to accommodate the unique property forms espoused by indigenous
  people, which includes collective ownership, right to freely live in their
  territory-these being justified because the “ close ties of indigenous people with
  the land [being] the fundamental basis of their cultures, their spiritual
  life, their integrity” ( ¶ 149).  
  
-
  Court considers
  customary law of the community and proposes that “possession of the land
  should suffice for indigenous communities lacking real title to property of
  the land to obtain official recognition of that property and for consequent
  registration”. (¶ 151). 
  
-Court
  also looks at trevaux preperetoires
  of the American Convention on Human Rights to determine the meaning of
  property in article 21. See concurring judgement of Sergio Garcia Ramirez J: “The
  language in which this right (property) is framed was meant to accommodate
  all subjects protected by the Convention. Obviously, there is no single model
  for the use and enjoyment of property”. (¶ 11). 
  
-Court
  proposes that terms used in international human rights standards have
  autonomous meaning beyond those ascribed to them by national legislation. It
  looks at ILO Convention 169 
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ICJ/PCIJ 
1. Reparation
  for Injuries Suffered in the Service of the United Nations (1949) 
2. Factory at
  Chorzow (1928) [both for the proposition that obligation to provide
  adequate reparation for violations is a principle of international law.] 
  
European CtHR 
  
Kenmache v France (Jd of November 2,1993) 
  
International Instruments and
  standards 
ILO Convention 169 art. 14(1) 
UN Draft Declaration on Indigenous Peoples (then) 
Geneva Convention on Law of Treaties (art 31(1)) 
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Moiwana v Suriname ( Judgement of June 15, 2005) 
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On
  November 29, 1986,
  Suriname army attacked the
  N’djuka Maroon village
   of Moiwana and massacred
  over 40 men, women and children, and razed the village to the ground. Those
  who escaped the attack fled into the surrounding forest, and then into exile
  or internal displacement. On November
   12, 1987, almost a year later Suriname simultaneously ratified
  the American Convention on Human Rights and recognized the jurisdiction of
  the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. 
Almost
  ten years later, on June
   27, 1997, a petition was filed with the IACmHR and later on lodged
  with the IACtHR.  
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Court found violation of right to judicial
  protection in article 25, right to property in article 21, freedom of
  movement in article 22, right to fair trial in article 8 -all read within the
  penumbra of obligations set out in articles 1(1) and 2 of the Convention.
  IACtHR ordered for adoption of legislation to give effect to Moiwana property
  rights; establishment of community development fund for US$ 1,200,000 being
  compensation; awarded US$ 45,000 as costs 
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-The
  Court asserted jurisdiction by holding that Suriname’s
  failure “to investigate . . . starting from the date when Suriname recognized the
  Tribunal’s competence”  formed the
  basis for the Court’s jurisdiction 
-Failure
  to investigate and punish massacre against an indigenous/tribal group will
  constitute a “continuing violation” for the purposes of determining the
  culpability of a state, even if the act complained against took place before
  the state had ratified a given treaty. 
  
-Court
  infers that if a tribal or indigenous/tribal community cannot access its
  ancestral land by virtue of failure on part of state to visit just deserts
  upon perpetrators of a massacre, right to property of such community will
  have been violated. This is notwithstanding the fact that such a community
  may not have legally recognised title to the land and their claim is only
  anchored upon possession and historical occupation. (¶ 131). 
  
-Ct
  found that an indigenous community’s claim to ancestral land was not defeated
  merely by the fact that they were no longer in possession, if it can be shown
  that they lost possession and continue so to do, through the instrumentality
  of state violence (¶ 134). 
  
-Court
  declined to find that right to life in article 4 had been breached since the
  specific events, as opposed to their effects, which gave rise to lose of
  life, took place before the ratification of the Convention by Suriname,
  and its interrogation of these events fell outside the Court’s competence. (¶
  92). 
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Human Rights Committee 
Communication 859/1999 
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Yakye Axa v. Paraguay (Judgement of June 17,2005) 
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The
  Yakye Axa community consists of indigenous people that historically engaged
  in hunting and gathering. Their ancestral land had been sold to foreign
  investors at the London
  stock exchange in the early 1900s and members of the community became
  labourers in the subsequent ranches and farms established. The community
  sought to return to their ancestral land in 1993 but were denied entry. In
  defiance of authority, they then set up a settlement by the roadside. Their
  state of destitution also created an environment of nutritional, medical, and
  sanitary vulnerability. While Paraguayan constitution and law recognizes
  indigenous rights, it was incapable of securing the rights sought by the
  Yakye Axa peoples. 
  
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Paraguay was held to have
  breached Articles 4 (Right to Life), 8 (Right to a Fair Trial), 21 (Right to
  Property), and 25 (Right to Judicial Protection). Ct. ordered for restitution of land, and
  demarcation, titling and transfer thereof in favour of Yakye Axa; Legal and
  administrative changes to secure property rights of community; establishment
  of community fund of US$ 950,000; Costs of US$ 15,000. 
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-IACtHR
  found that the right to judicial protection in articles 8 and 25 in
  combination with state obligation in articles 1(1) and 2 require that for a
  judicial recourse availed to claimants to be effective, formal recognition in
  the constitution or statute was not sufficient. Effectiveness of recourse
  will be a function of the appropriateness and capability of an established
  mechanism to secure remedy for a violation. (¶ 61). For indigenous people, Ct. established the
  need for legal protection that accords with the specificities of the
  economic, social and cultural context as well as their vulnerability and
  customary norms (¶ 63).  
  
-In
  determining the existence of an effective procedure for indigenous land claim
  court will: i. examine formal existence of recourse mechanisms; ii. Examine
  the effectiveness of these mechanisms, which involves examining a. weighing
  the time taken to respond to the issue against the complexity thereof, b.
  procedural requirements to be met by the Claimant, and c. conduct of judicial
  authorities. (¶ 65). The net effect of this examination is to establish the
  existence of procedures that can provide real opportunity for the resolution
  of an indigenous peoples land claim (¶ 102). 
  
-Legal
  recognition of the political leadership of an indigenous group for purposes
  of acquiring property or other rights is a mere formality the non procurement
  of which does not defeat their inherent claim. (¶¶ 82-84). 
  
-The
  principle of rational use of property by third party cannot be used to trump
  an indigenous community’s historical claim, unless it can be shown that the
  state has done all within its facility to secure the interests of the
  indigenous vulnerable group. (¶ 97). 
  
-Ct.
  took as its starting point its decision in Awas Tingni v Nicaragua to interpret article 21 as encompassing
  collective ancestral land rights of indigenous communities ¶ 124) on the
  basis of cultural and spiritual connectedness of indigenous people with their
  ancestral territory. It assessed the scope of property rights by looking at
  the Convention as a live instrument the interpretation of which must take
  into account the changing contexts (¶ 125). It also interpreted the
  Convention on basis of article 31 of Vienna Law of Treaties and Article 29
  (b) of the Convention itself (¶¶ 126 & 129). 
  
-The
  limitation of property rights in article 21(1) is permissible on the grounds
  of proportionality, namely, if the restriction is closely adjusted to the
  attainment of legitimate objective, interfering as little as possible with
  the exercise of the restricted right (¶ 145). The restriction must also not
  defeat the collective aspirations of the Convention (¶ 145). 
  
-
  To comply with the article 21(1), State must show that it has assessed clash
  between ancestral property rights and private property rights and the
  proportionate impacts of permitting one to prevail over the other considered.
  The importance of indigenous land rights to their very survival as a cultural
  group should be taken into account in this balancing process (¶ 146). Ct. established that
  indigenous land rights will not always trump private property rights under
  this matrix, since states may have legitimate and justifiable reasons for
  sustaining private property rights over indigenous land rights (¶ 149). 
  
-Alternatives
  to restitution of ancestral land to indigenous people must be pursued in
  consultation and with consent of indigenous group taking into consideration
  their institutions, values, customs and laws (¶ 151).   
  
-Failure
  to guarantee collective property rights to an indigenous community violates
  right to life of the community to the extent that access to traditional means
  of subsistence as well as use and enjoyment of natural resources are
  constrained (¶ ¶167 & 168). 
  
-Court
  declines to find violation of right to life with respect to the death of 16
  members of the community on the grounds of lack of causal connection (¶¶ 177
  & 178). 
  
-In
  finding that state is obliged to delimit and demarcate ancestral land of the
  Yakye Axa, Ct. stated that it was also upon the state to define the scope of
  such a territory: “…it is the state’s duty to identify the community’s
  territory and subsequently, delimit, demarcate, title and transfer the lands,
  inasmuch as it is the state that has the technical and scientific means to
  carry out these tasks” (¶ 23 of Yakye
  Axa v Paraguay Interpretation Judgement of February 6, 2006). Such
  identification of territory must factor in the historical memory of
  indigenous group with respect to the territorial scope. 
  
-In
  dismissing state contention that restitution of ancestral land to the
  Sawhoyamaxa would prejudice investment treaty between Germany and Paraguay,
  the court was explicit that “the enforcement of bilateral commercial
  treaties…should always be compatible with the American Convention, which is a
  multilateral treaty on human rights that stands on its own…and does not
  depend entirely on reciprocity among states” (¶ 140). 
  
  
  
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ECtHR 
Tyrer v United Kingdom, 5856/72 Judgment of April
   25,1978 
  
International human rights
  instruments and  Standards 
-ILO Convention 169 
-UN Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights 
-UN Committee on Economic Social and Cultural
  Rights, General Comment No 14. 
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Yatama v Nicaragua 
(Judgement of 
  June 23, 2005) 
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Pursuant
  to a new law in Nicaragua which required only political parties to
  participate in the electoral process, YATAMA, a regional political party was
  excluded from participating in the 2000 Mayoral elections for not meeting the
  threshold conditions of fielding candidates in 80% of the electoral areas in
  the RAAN & RAAS regions; a decision of the supreme electoral body that
  was not subject to judicial review. This was notwithstanding an accommodative
  provision in the Nicaraguan law that for indigenous organizations, their own
  natural form of organization and participation will be respected so that they
  may form regional parties [¶ 124(21)]. This resulted in non- participation of
  indigenous communities of the Atlantic Coast in the political processes and a
  four year exclusion from decision making process, hence increasing the
  vulnerability of indigenous communities in the regions. 
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Right
  to fair hearing in article 8, right to judicial remedies in article 25,
  article 23 on political participation of citizens and article 24 on equality
  before the law, read together with the obligations in article 1(1) and 2 of
  the Convention had been violated. Ct.
  awarded US$ 80,000 damages to YATAMA and another US$ 15,000 in costs. It also
  ordered the state to undertake legal reform, make public apology and publish
  the operative part of the decision. 
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-In
  indicting the decision of the Supreme Electoral Council to exclude Yatama
  from the 2000 elections, Ct.
  held that under article 8(1) of the Covenant, decisions of administrative
  bodies that may implicate human rights, such as the right to political
  participation, should be amenable to due process, otherwise they would be
  arbitrary ( ¶ 152). 
  
-
  Ct. held explicitly that lack of judicial review of decision of an electoral
  body would offend article 25 of the Convention: “Irrespective of the
  regulations that each state establishes for its Supreme Electoral Body, the
  latter must be subject to some form of jurisdictional control that allows it
  to be determined whether its acts have been adopted respecting minimum
  guarantees and rights established by the American Convention, and those
  established in its own laws…” (¶ 175). 
  
-Ct.
  held that while the regulation of political participation is permissible,
  under article 23 and 24, it must respect the principle of legality, necessity
  and proportionality in a democratic society: “Legality requires that state to
  define precisely by law, the requirement for voters to be able to take part
  in an election and stipulate clearly the electoral procedures prior to the
  elections…The restriction should be established by law, non- discriminatory,
  based on reasonable criteria, respond to a useful and opportune purpose… necessary
  to an urgent public interest, and be proportionate to this purpose.” The
  least restrictive option should be pursued (¶ 206). 
  
-Ct
  confirmed that a statute that required the signatures of 3% of voters before
  one is deemed qualified to contest an election was an impermissible intrusion
  on the right to political participation (¶ 213). 
  
-Ct
  found that any requirement for political participation that would render
  groups with different form of political organization unable to participate
  offends article 23 and 24 to the extent that it limits the enjoyment of
  political rights more than is strictly necessary and is an impediment to
  political participation (¶ 220). 
  
-
  The Ct.
  established that the requirement that all political parties present
  candidates in at least 80% of the municipalities is a disproportionate
  restriction that unduly limited the political participation of the candidates
  postulated by YATAMA for the municipal elections of November 2000: “It does
  not take into account that the indigenous and ethnic population is a
  minority, nor that there would be municipalities in which there would be no
  support for candidates, or that there would be no interest to seek this
  support”(¶223).  
-In
  its analysis, the Court understood that the obligation of the State to
  guarantee political rights implied that regulations for its exercise and
  application be carried out according to the principles of equality and
  non-discrimination. In the case of people who belong to indigenous or ethnic
  communities, the regulation must also take into account specifications such
  as their languages, customs and forms of organization, which may be different
  from the majority of the population (¶¶ 218 & 219). 
  
-
  Thus, the Court
  held that Nicaragua
  is obligated to “adopt all the necessary measures to guarantee that members
  of indigenous and ethnic communities of the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua can
  participate, under conditions of equality, in the development policies that
  influence, or could influence, their rights and the development of their
  communities.”(¶ 225). 
  
-Ct. held that the
  denial of YATAMA to participate in the 2000 elections, foreclosed the
  participation of indigenous peoples in decision affecting them and diluted
  the democratic credentials of the entire electoral process, impacting
  negatively on the development of a multicultural state that respects
  diversity (¶¶  225,226 & 227) 
  
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The decision extensively relied on comparative
  jurisprudence from the ECtHR, and Human Rights Committee. It also analyses
  and applies various legal standards emerging from treaty bodies etc. See e.g.
  footnote to ¶ 184 and 192. 
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Sawhoyamaxa v Paraguay 
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The
  Sawhoyamaxa lost their land in 19th century when it was sold at London Stock
  Exchange to repay sovereign dates owing to Paraguay after the War of the
  Triple Alliance. The new owners employed the indigenous group as casual
  labourers and restricted their access to traditional lands, thus bringing
  about significant changes in its subsistence activities. They increasingly
  depended on their salary for food and took advantage of their temporary stay
  in the various estates settled in the area to continue developing their
  subsistence activities (hunting, fishing, and gathering). Even with a new
  legal framework that envisages restitution of land to indigenous groups, the
  Sawhoyamaxa’s claim had not been processed by the state 11 years after
  commencing the procedural requirements. This has barred the Community and its
  members from title to and possession of their lands, and has kept the
  community in a state of nutritional, medical and health vulnerability, which
  constantly threatens their survival and integrity and had resulted in several
  deaths. 
  
  
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IACtHR
  ruled in favour of Sawhoyamaxa community and found violation of articles 3
  (juridical personality); 4 (right to life); 8 (fair hearing) ; 25 (effective
  remedy) ,and  21 (property) 
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-The
  Ct. established that the lack of legal framework to support compulsory
  acquisition of land under rational use by third parties and ensure its
  restitution to indigenous community renders the provision of the Paraguayan
  Constitution and Agrarian Legislation which provide possibility for land
  claims by indigenous peoples in the country incapable of satisfying the
  requirements of articles 8 and 25 of the Convention (¶¶ 102-108).
  Congressional economic justifications for rejecting request to condemn land
  and transfer it to an indigenous group, likewise fails to satisfy articles 8
  and 25 (¶ 105). 
  
-Ct
  made it clear that the foundation for collective property in favour of
  indigenous people is based on its aspiration not to discriminate between two
  systems of property ownership. The court observed that “This notion of
  ownership and possession of land does not necessarily conform to the
  classical concept of property, but deserves equal protection under article 21
  of the American Convention. Disregard for this specific  version of use and enjoyment of property,
  springing from the culture, uses, customs and beliefs of each people, would
  be tantamount to holding that there is only one way of using and disposing of
  property, which in turn would render the protection under article 21
  …illusory for millions of persons” (¶ 120). 
  
-Ct.
  reaffirmed the principles established in Awas
  Tingi v Nicaragua  and set out
  substantive norms on the nature and scope of indigenous land rights thus: 1)
  their traditional possession of lands is equivalent  to fee simple property/free hold title; 2) their
  traditional possession gives rise to a legitimate demand for official
  recognition and registration of property title; 3) forced displacement of
  indigenous people from ancestral territory does not divest them of title to
  their property even though they lack legal title, unless the lands have been
  lawfully transferred to third parties in good faith, in which event; 4) they
  are entitled to restitution thereof or to obtain other lands of equal
  extension and quality. (¶ 128). 
  
-Indigenous
  community’s right to restitution of ancestral land from which they were
  displaced will subsist as long as their cultural connection to the land
  survives. The court found that such close relationship with ancestral land is
  “ expressed in different ways, depending on the particular indigenous people
  involved and the specific circumstances surrounding it, and it may include
  the traditional use or presence, be it through spiritual or ceremonial ties;
  settlements or sporadic cultivation; seasonal or nomadic gathering, hunting
  and fishing; the use of natural resources associated with their customs and
  any other element characterizing their culture” (¶ 131). The rights of
  indigenous people whom the state prevents from manifesting their cultural
  connectedness to a given ancestral land through repression or violence will
  not lapse (¶ 132). 
  
-In
  finding violation of article 4 on right to life and holding the state
  culpable for the deaths of 18 minors, members of the Sawhoyamaxa, the court
  restated its basis thus: “ In order for this positive obligation to arise, it
  must be determined that at the time of the 
  occurrence of the events, the authorities knew or should have known
  about the existence of a situation posing an 
  immediate and certain risk to the life of an individual or of a  group of individuals, and that the
  necessary measures were not adopted within the scope of their authority which
  could be reasonably expected to prevent or avoid such a risk” (¶ 155). The
  court adopting this to the vulnerable situation of the community, opined that
  “those measures which the state undertook to adopt before the members of the
  Sawhoyamaxa community were different, in view of the urgent nature, from those
  the state should adopt to guarantee the rights of the population…in general”
  (¶ 173). 
  
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ECtHR 
Kilic v Turkey (2000) III, EurCourtHR,63 
Oneryldiz v Turkey, Application No.
  48939/99, EurCourtHR (gc), Judgement of November 30, 2004 
Osman v United
    Kingdom (1998) VIII, 116 
  
International Instruments and
  standards 
ILO Convention 169 
UN Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural
  Rights 
 | 
 
  
Saramaka v Suriname 
(Judgement
  of November 28, 2007). 
 | 
  
The
  Saramaka are a tribal community descending from slaves who after freeing
  themselves were recognized as an autonomous group by treaty with the Dutch
  colonial authorities in 1762. Since the 16th Century, the
  community has collectively occupied the Upper Suriname
   River lands where they practise hunting and gathering, fishing
  and traditional agriculture (¶¶ 80-84). A Chinese
  logging company was granted concessions to log in the territory traditionally
  occupied by the Saramaka without their prior informed consent nor
  compensation.  Gold mining concessions
  were equally issued by the state of Suriname. Both development
  activities had serious impact on the cultural intergrity and environment and
  therefore threaten the very survival of the community. The Government of Suriname argued that the
  Saramaka as a collectivity lacked standing before the court. It submitted
  that its grant of logging and mining concessions were part and parcel of its
  sovereign rights and were carried out in accordance with domestic law. It
  contended that the Saramaka were licensees in the land in dispute with respect
  to which, the state had ultimate title. In particular, it alleged that the
  community has no right with respect to sub- surface natural resources,
  including timber and minerals, over which the state sovereign rights
  permitted its unfettered exploitation in the public interest and according to
  law. It further pleaded that legislation singling out protection of the
  Saramaka community’s alleged ancestral land would be discriminatory. In the
  circumstance, it was not in violation of any of the provisions of the
  Convention 
 | 
  
The State was found to be in violation of the right
  to property, as recognized in Article 21, the right to juridical personality
  in article 3 and the right to judicial protection under article 25 of the
  American Convention on Human Rights in relation to the obligations to
  respect, ensure, and to give domestic legal effect to said rights, in
  accordance with Articles 1(1) and 2 thereof. The State was ordered to
  delimit, demarcate, and grant collective title over the territory of the
  members of the Saramaka people, in accordance with their customary laws and
  in consultation with the community. 
  
The State was ordered to grant the members of the
  Saramaka people legal recognition of the collective juridical capacity,
  pertaining to the community to which they belong, with the purpose of
  ensuring the full exercise and enjoyment of their right to communal property,
  as well as collective access to
  justice, in accordance with their communal system, customary laws, and
  traditions. Damages of US$
  675,000 to be managed by an Implementing Committee of 3 persons and applied
  towards community development awarded. Costs of US$ 85,000 payable to the 2
  Representatives of the Victims-Forest Peoples Programme and Association of
  Saramaka Authorities also awarded. 
  
  
  
  
  
 | 
  
-With respect to the right to property, the court
  affirmed that scope of indigenous and tribal peoples land rights should be
  established by an assessment of the customary norms of the community and on
  the basis of consultation with them (¶¶ 100 & 101). In this respect, a
  statute that merely grants an interest (as apposed to a right) to the
  indigenous community in relation to their land,  subjecting their enjoyment to public good,
  will not satisfy the obligation of a state under article 2 of the Convention
  (¶¶ 108-110) . A statute that compensated only title holders to land the
  subject matter of mining and leaves non-title holders (the Saramaka) without
  recourse would also fail to satisfy article 2 of the Convention (¶111). 
  
-The court interpreted the proviso to article 21 of
  the Convention as capable of permitting a restriction in the enjoyment and
  use of land and natural resources within the territory of an indigenous or
  tribal group. Such restriction must be established by a law of general
  application and should be necessary, proportional and aimed at achieving a
  legitimate objective in a democratic society (¶ 127).  
  
-The court explicitly held that restriction of
  property rights will not be permitted if it has the effect of threatening the
  survival and existence of a tribal or indigenous community and its culture (¶
  128 -To ensure that  the exploitation
  of natural resources did not threaten the survival of indigenous and tribal
  group, the court obliges state parties to the Convention to: i) ensure effective
  participation of the community in conformity with their customs and
  traditions in any development process; ii) secure their benefit sharing in
  the outcomes of the development program, and; iii) undertake prior legitimate
  and comprehensive environmental and social impact assessment of the proposed
  development intervention (¶ 129)  
-The court also established that in order to achieve the
  participation of indigenous or tribal people in small scale logging/mining development, state parties must secure
  the free, prior, informed and culturally-compliant consultation of indigenous
  people (¶ 133). However, with respect to large
  scale logging/mining programs, state obligation goes beyond consultation
  and enlarges into prior, informed consent (¶¶ 134-137 (referencing CERD
  General Comment no. 23 and Special Rapporteur’s report).In this, the court
  was emphatic:  
  
“…the safeguard of effective participation that is necessary when
  dealing with major development or investment plans that may have a profound
  impact on the property rights of the members of the Saramaka people to a
  large part of their territory must be understood to additionally require the
  free, prior and informed consent of the Saramakas, in accordance with their
  traditions and customs.” 
  
Whether a development is small scale or large scale
  is an issue of fact based on its impact on indigenous peoples’ culture and
  livelihood. 
 | 
  
South
    Africa 
Alexkor Ltd. &
  Government of South Africa
  v Richtersveld Community and Others, CCT/1903 (October 14, 2003). 
  
Canada 
Delgamuukw v British
  Columbia [1997]
  3 S.C.R 1010 (December
   11,1997) 
  
African Commission on Human and
  Peoples Rights 
The Social and
  Economic Rights Action Centre & the Centre for Economic and Social Rights
  v Nigeria,
  Communication 155/96 (2001) 
  
European
    Court for Human Rights 
Connors v United Kingdom
  Application
  No. 66746/01 (Judgement of July
   15,2002) 
  
  
Human Rights Committee 
Lansman v Finland, Communication
  511/1992, U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/52/D/511/1994 [Decision of November 8, 1994]).  
Apirana Nahuika et al. v New Zealand,  Communication No. 547/1993,  
U.N. Doc. CCPR/C/70/D/547/1993 (2000). 
  
International instruments and standards 
- Universal Declaration on Human Rights 
-International Convention on Economic Social
  and Cultural Rights 
-International
  Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 
 ILO Convention
  169 
 -World Bank
  Operational Policy on Indigenous Peoples,  
-UNHRC General Comment 23 
-UN CERD General Recommendation No. 23. -UN
  Declaration on Indigenous Rights. 
  
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