After an inspection carried out by the Directorate General of Coastguard and Coast Guard (DICAPI) in the concession property of our client where a Gas Station is located, the institution initiated an administrative sanctioning procedure, for the alleged construction within the Highest Tide Line (HTL), which is under the administration of DICAPI. A Resolution was issued sanctioning the company.
This Resolution -although not consented- was communicated to the Prosecutor’s Office Specialized in Environmental Matters to investigate whether the alleged construction within the HTL constituted the crime of landscape alteration.
The Prosecutor’s Office initiated a preliminary investigation, and an inspection of the property was carried out. It was only after this inspection that the case became known, and the defense was prepared. All documentation was compiled to prove that the company had held the concession for the site for years and that the construction was carried out years before the HTL’s decision.
All documentation was presented, and the legal representative was prepared and accompanied to give his statement. A statement of defense was drawn up setting out our position and written statements of defense on the reports issued by the various authorities involved. We were also informed that our position was that the case was time-barred and should not be subject of pronouncement.
Based on our defense and written submissions, the Public Prosecutor’s Office decided to resolve the merits of the controversy, issuing the Disposition of Archive on the basis that the company had acted in accordance with the previously granted concession and that the construction had been carried out years before the determination of the HTL; therefore, it could not be sanctioned for the alleged alteration of the landscape. The ruling was not appealed and was declared consented and the case was definitively closed.
