Transnational legal mobilisation: the case of the Mariana and Doce River mining disaster in Brazil

Abstract

This paper analyses the process of internationalising the legal mobilisation that sought reparations for the mining disaster that took place in 2015 in the city of Mariana, the Doce River basin and on Brazil’s southeastern coastline. It seeks to understand the dynamics produced by activating different levels of justice and the effects of internationalisation on the functioning of justice institutions at national level. Two separate patterns of internationalisation are noted: a) via the traditional human rights defence networks; and b) a new one, promoted by an international office specialised in "alternative litigation financing" (ALF), which employs arguments from environmental law and transnational legislation. The characteristics of these two patterns are examined along with their effects on the dynamics of legal mobilisation and national institutions.

Keywords

• brazil
• mining
• natural disaster
• transnational legal mobilisation
• multi-scalar dynamics
• environment