Client Requirement: Our client is facing an Administrative Sanctioning Procedure (“PAS”) for the alleged lack of compliance of obligations related to the filing of certain information and the disposal of certain waste materials. Our client requested us to not only defend the position of the company but also to make certain statements regarding its environmental obligations.
Our participation: Client was right when it showed some concern beyond the PAS because it was certainly most important to framework the limits of the environmental obligations to be carried out by the Company. Accordingly, we started the design of the defence by grounding a basic principle: the Company was not obliged to count with an Environmental Management Instrument (“EIA”) following the specific wording of the law. This interpretation was not easily accepted by certain governmental officers. So, the first task reached by our Firm was to get our understanding accepted by the authorities. After the achievement of this important milestone, the defence of our client in the PAS was better grounded because the alleged obligation of filing information only corresponded to the ones that count with an EIA. In other words, we demonstrated that our client was not obliged to file such information and therefore no fine had to be imposed.
Regarding the alleged lack of compliance of obligations related to the disposal of waste materials we helped our client to explain how this allegation was formed after an incorrect “jumping-to-conclusion” analysis.
Client benefit: Our comprehensive approach to both (i) the incorrect allegation of infringement and (ii) the clarification of the accurate limits of our client’s environmental obligations, has given our client a strong position in this proceeding.
