المعاهدة الدولية بشأن الموارد الوراثية النباتية للأغذية والزراعة

Constitutional Court Ruling that seed law restricting the free use, conservation and circulation of farmers’ seed and certification requirements are unconstitutional

Seeds feed us; they are a collective creation that reflects the history of the peoples (Via Campesina, 2010). On June 1, 2017, the National Assembly of Ecuador approved the "Organic Law of Biodiversity, Seeds and Promotion of Sustainable Agriculture", this norm imposed agro-industrial certification requirements and restrictions on the free use, conservation, and circulation of peasant seeds. As a result, .several organizations, including the Seed Guardians Network - an organization that protects agrobiodiversity and promotes regenerative livelihood systems - filed a lawsuit with the Constitutional Court to reverse this discrimination. The lawsuit argued that seeds have been a common good and property of the people, not of the State or corporations, and that the Law violates the Ecuadorian Constitution (Articles 28, 37, 55, 281). On January 20, 2022, the Constitutional Court of Ecuador ruled in favor of the peasant seed systems through Judgment No. 22-17-IN and accumulated/22

Institution/organization Civil Society Organization
Provision of Art. 9 addressed Art. 9.1, Art. 9.2a, Art. 9.2b, Art. 9.2c, Art. 9.3
Type of measure/practice Legal, Others
Country Ecuador
Region Latin America and the Caribbean
Link(s) to further information about the measure/practice https://www.fao.org/3/cc1722en/cc1722en.pdf

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