decision

Ricardo Castillo Arancibia v. Municipality of Monte Patria - decision

complaint

Ricardo Castillo Arancibia v. Municipality of Monte Patria - complaint

appeal

Ricardo Castillo Arancibia v. Municipality of Monte Patria - appeal

Filing Year For Action

As described in the lawsuit filed on February 4, 2022, the plaintiff entered into a contract with the defendant the Municipality of Monte Patria in May 2017 for services related to the Department of the Environment, where he maintained the city's gardens and public spaces, kept a record of the city plants, and trees, and shrub needs, and designed gardens for public spaces and schools. It was initially fixed until December 31, 2017 and then renewed every three months based on the evaluation of the person in charge of the Department. There were successive renewals of contracts until 31 December 2019. 

On January 2, 2020, the Municipality amended his contract, assigning him the tasks of "planning the recovery of public spaces, designing and executing projects for green areas under its Environment Director". Upon November 30, 2021, the defendant notified him of the termination of his contract ("non-renewal"), and he was dismissed on December 31, 2021. According to the plaintiff, he was dismissed for political reasons and due to a discriminatory act by the defendant.

According to the municipality, the complaint should be rejected. It states that since the employee is a public worker, the termination does not have to be justified since the contract's expiration suffices. It is claimed, however, that the termination of the contract was due to a restructuring of the Department of the Environment, as extreme drought requires actions that favour the sustainable use of water resources and address the drought in Monte Patria, which requires different planning than what has been done so far by the plaintiff.

Due to the fixed-term nature of the contract, the Ovalle District Court rejected the claim, stating that the defendant municipality did not have to justify its termination. As for climate change, it maintains that the separation of the plaintiff was caused by an administrative reorganization affecting the unit or department where the plaintiff worked, such as Environment. The judgment indicates that the prolonged drought affecting the province and much of the country is public knowledge, so it seems reasonable to adopt measures to optimize water resources and reduce green areas of the commune, which happens to be the operational area of the plaintiff both in planning, monitoring and care; and this measure has justified the rationing of human resources for the plaintiff's responsibilities.

The plaintiff filed an action for annulment before the Court of Appeals for the City of La Serena. According to him, the dismissal was unjustified and politically motivated. Regarding the argument that the Department of the Environment should be restructured, he maintains that the climate crisis has been around the city for over 20 years, and that his work focuses specifically on water resource optimization, which demonstrates the weakness of the Municipality's argument.

The Court of Appeals of La Serena dismissed the appeal without addressing the defendant's climate change argument. A new legal recourse for unification of jurisprudence was filed by the plaintiff against this judgment before the Supreme Court. 

On March 16, 2023, the Supreme Court dismissed the unification appeal as inadmissible without ruling on the merits of the case.

Ricardo Castillo Arancibia v. Municipality of Monte Patria

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An aim to achieve a quantifiable outcome within a given time-frame, set by an institution such as a national government.

Policy instruments are techniques or tools used by governing authorities to promote certain policies in order to achieve predetermined goals. Put simply, instruments are how a government tries to achieve its goals, with this taxonomy being focused on national policy instruments.

Risk is the potential for adverse consequences resulting from the dynamic interplay between (climate-related) hazards, exposure, and vulnerability of affected human or ecological systems.

Groups  of people who are adversely affected by climate change or the response to it

A set of principles, processes, and practices that build economic and political power to shift from an extractive economy to a regenerative economy.

Renewable energy means all forms of energy produced from renewable sources in a sustainable manner.

Fossil fuel is a generic term for non-renewable energy sources such as coal, fossil gas, and oil (including crude oil, and petroleum products), that can be used for electricity and heat generation. Fossil fuels are hydrocarbons formed from pressurised and heated organic material buried over millions of years.

Molecules in the atmosphere that play a key role in the greenhouse effect by trapping heat radiating from Earth’s surface.

Area of the economy in which actors engage in identical or related activities.

In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate change and its effects, in order to moderate harm, increase resilience or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate change and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate change and its effects.

The management and allocation of funds, assets and investments to meet various objectives

A subsidy is a direct or indirect payment to individuals or businesses, typically provided as a government cash payment or a specific tax reduction.

Either money or something of monetary value is transferred between two or more organisations, people or countries.

Activities of government agencies and institutions that provide public services, enforce laws and manage public resources.

This sector includes firms and individuals offering specialised expertise in fields such as law, accounting, consulting, science and engineering.

Extreme weather refers to events where a weather variable exceeds (or falls below) a threshold. Meaning it is significantly different from the average or usual weather pattern.

A drought is an extended period of unusually dry weather marked by a significant and sustained lack of precipitation, falling below a specific threshold over a large area for more than a month

Ricardo Castillo Arancibia v. Municipality of Monte Patria - decision

Policy instrument

Risk

Economic sector

Finance