The Central American Water Tribunal believes that all citizens have the legal right to clean drinking water and wants to prove it in "court." Based in Costa Rica, the tribunal is an autonomous body whose independent jury will review 12 controversial cases involving water contamination in Central America and deliver a verdict. While the jury's decisions will have no legal consequences, they can raise public awareness and bring international pressure on those found guilty, according to tribunal legal coordinator José María Borrero.

He points out that nearly 50 percent of the population in Latin America lacks access to potable water. "It is unjust that so many are dying of thirst," he says. He also notes that nearly all countries in the region have laws that proclaim citizens have the constitutional right to a clean environment as well as laws prohibiting water contamination, but they are seldom enforced.

Citizens' groups that submitted cases and evidence will hear in early March if their case was selected to be tried. Among the criteria used to select cases are: the amount of environmental damage caused; the importance of the ecosystems impacted; the number of people affected; and whether or not local residents support the case. The jury will be comprised of one representative from each Central American nation plus three international experts. Borrero notes that a priority is to select jury members who are "renowned, respected and have a reputation for being moral and ethical."

In June, the tribunal will invite defendants to appear to present their sides. If they fail to appear, the case will be decided on the evidence submitted. According to tribunal coordinator Javier Bogantes, only cases where the plaintiffs have supplied reliable scientific evidence are selected. Among the cases the tribunal is reviewing for selection is one against a petroleum company accused of contaminating water in the Petén, Guatemala; another against the International Development Bank and the government of Panama for damage caused by construction of a highway; and a third against a mining company in Nicaragua.

Bogantes reports that one case was already settled out of court. The Committee for the Defense and Development of the Flora and Fauna of the Gulf of Fonseca planned to present a suit against the Honduran government and association of shrimp farmers, holding them responsible for contaminating the gulf's fish-rich waters. According to the group's director, Jorge Varela, a truce was declared in January when the government placed a moratorium against any further expansion of shrimp farms and established a Gulf of Fonseca Protected Area, for which the conservation group had long been lobbying.

While many factors led to resolution of the conflict, Varela does believe that the accused were well aware of the negative international publicity a "guilty" verdict from the tribunal would have brought.

The tribunal is funded by the Dutch embassy and several European organizations. Bogantes says these groups have thousands of members, "ready to write letters and take action that support" the jury's verdicts. @

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