El Plan Nacional de Empresas y Derechos Humanos y el marco regulatorio de las empresas del sector público

El projecte d'implementació dels Principis Rectors de l'ONU sobre les empreses i els drets humans a Espanya a través del Pla Nacional d'Empreses i Drets Humans actualment en elaboració, s'insereix en un context de crisi econòmica caracteritzada a Espanya per la imperiosa necessitat de fomentar l'ocupació i la internacionalització de la nostra economia.La Llei 2/2011, d'Economia Sostenible, fa una referència expressa a la responsabilitat social de les empreses i a criteris de sostenibilitat en la gestió de les empreses públiques, la qual cosa comprèn el respecte als drets humans. No obstant això, el seu abast és limitat, tant pel que fa a l'àmbit subjectiu com a l'objectiu o contingut de la seva regulació.Respecte al deure de l'Estat de protecció així com a la responsabilitat de les empreses de respectar els drets humans, els Principis Ruggie estableixen expressament el nexe especial existent entre l'Estat en un sentit lat i determinades empreses, és a dir, entitats instrumentals del sector públic.Els Principis Rectors de l'ONU són una manifestació del dret global que situa en el centre del sistema la dignitat de la persona. La incorporació expressa de tals principis amb mecanismes jurisdiccionals i no jurisdiccionals de reparació constitueixen un motor de progrés i un element a tenir en compte en la racionalització de l'Administració i les seves estructures, que contribueixen a satisfer el dret a una bona administració.The project for implementation in Spain of the U.N.'s Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights through the National Plan on Business and Human Rights, currently under development, must be viewed within a context of economic crisis characterized in Spain by the imperious need to encourage employment and foster the internationalization of our economy.The Sustainable Economy Act (2/2011) expressly refers to corporate social responsibility and sustainability criteria for the management of public corporations, which includes the respect for human rights. Nevertheless, the law's scope is limited, as regards both the subjective domain and the objective or content of its regulation.With respect to the duty of the State to protect and the responsibility of corporations to respect human rights, the Ruggie Principles expressly provide for a special nexus between the State in the broad sense and specific companies, i.e., instrumental entities of the public sector.The U.N.'s Guiding Principles are a manifestation of international law, which places human dignity at the heart of the system. The express incorporation of said principles with jurisdictional and non-jurisdictional remedy mechanisms constitutes a driving force of progress and an element to be taken into account in the streamlining of government and government structures, and contributes to fulfilling the right to good governance. El proyecto de implementación de los Principios Rectores de la ONU sobre las empresas y los derechos humanos en España a través del Plan Nacional de Empresas y Derechos Humanos actualmente en elaboración, se inserta en un contexto de crisis económica caracterizada en España por la imperiosa necesidad de fomentar el empleo y la internacionalización de nuestra economía.La Ley 2/2011, de Economía Sostenible, hace una referencia expresa a la responsabilidad social de las empresas y a criterios de sostenibilidad en la gestión de las empresas públicas, lo que comprende el respeto a los derechos humanos. No obstante, su alcance es limitado, tanto por lo que respecta al ámbito subjetivo como al objetivo o contenido de su regulación.En orden al deber del Estado de protección así como de la responsabilidad de las empresas de respetar los derechos humanos, los Principios Ruggie contemplan expresamente el nexo especial existente entre el Estado en un sentido lato y determinadas empresas, es decir, entidades instrumentales del sector público.Los Principios Rectores de la ONU son una manifestación del derecho global que sitúa en el centro del sistema la dignidad de la persona. La incorporación expresa de tales principios con mecanismos jurisdiccionales y no jurisdiccionales de reparación constituyen un motor de progreso y un elemento a tener en cuenta en la racionalización de la Administración y sus estructuras, contribuyendo a satisfacer el derecho a una buena administración.  

Holocene vegetation dynamics on the Apakará summit of the neotropical Guayana Highlands and potential environmental drivers

The Guayana Highlands (GH) are natural laboratories to study the influence of environmental drivers on neotropical ecosystems. The GH summits have been characterized by constant vegetation patterns during the Holocene, except for a few sites close to altitudinal ecotones. Here, we report a new pollen record showing two significant vegetation shifts, from Myrica forests to tepuian meadows (5340 cal yr BP) and then to Chimantaea shrublands (2720 cal yr BP). These changes are analyzed in terms of potential forcing factors such as regional climate changes, fire and autogenic succession. The first shift occurred shortly after the Holocene Thermal Maximum and the onset of a cooling/drying trend. A charcoal peak was coeval with this change suggesting some potential influence of fire. Autogenic processes related to lake infilling might have also been involved. The second vegetation shift took place during a phase of increased precipitation variability due to an ENSO intensification. The establishment of Chimantaea shrublands started at the end of this phase coinciding with another charcoal peak (2300 cal yr BP). These results support the idea of relevant ecological changes in the GH during the Holocene, the apparent vegetation constancy recorded in other GH summits could be due to site insensitivity. © 2017 Elsevier B.V.This research was funded by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation (projects CGL2006-00974/BOS and CGL2009-07069/BOS) and the Banco de Vizcaya Argentaria Foundation (project BIOCON 2004-90/05).Peer reviewe

The neotropical Gran Sabana region: Palaeoecology and conservation

The Gran Sabana (GS) is a key region for understanding the origin of neotropical savannas and is an ideal location to test ecological hypotheses on long-term vegetation dynamics under the action of natural and anthropogenic drivers. The conservation of the GS is a controversial issue because of the confluence of disparate cultural and socio-economic interests, with a strong debate surrounding fire practices by indigenous people. Late glacial to Holocene pollen and charcoal records obtained thus far in this region have documented the main palaeoecological trends along with the climatic and anthropogenic (mostly fire) drivers involved. Here, we discuss how these records can be used to inform conservation and restoration practices in the GS. The main points of the discussion are the local versus regional character of palaeoecological evidence, the support provided by this evidence for the existing fire management proposals and the role of spatiotemporal environmental and ecological heterogeneity in the definition and evaluation of realistic restoration targets. A general conclusion is that past ecological reconstructions do not fully support either of the current options for fire management, that is, either total fire suppression or the continuity of indigenous fire practices. It is recommended to replace this dual and rigid conservation framework with a more diverse and flexible approach that considers the complex spatiotemporal heterogeneity documented in palaeoecological records. © The Author(s) 2016.This research was funded by the Ministry of Education and Science (grant CGL2006-00974/BOS), the Ministry of Science and Innovation (grant CGL2009-07069/BOS) and the Banco de Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria Foundation (grants BIOCON 2004-90/05 and BIOCON 2008-031).Peer reviewe

Una nueva oportunidad para la minería metálica: la reapertura de la mina de Aznalcóllar en Sevilla

El estudio analiza la articulación técnica de la reapertura de la mina de Aznalcóllar a través de un concurso internacional. Se examina la situación de los permisos de investigación afectados por el proyecto de reapertura. La extinción de los permisos solicitados suscita dos cuestiones: de una parte, la naturaleza de la caducidad de los títulos mineros que regula la vigente Ley de Minas de 1973 y, de otra parte, la cuestión de la indemnizabilidad de la extinción de los permisos mineros. El sistema que prevé la Ley preconstitucional de Minas de 1973 con relación a la concesión que es el título habilitante para la explotación de los recursos de la Sección C, es la adjudicación directa basada en la preferencia de los titulares previos de permisos de investigación. Pese a ello, consideramos que, para la mejor garantía de los intereses generales implicados, el procedimiento de adjudicación debía de ser el concurso público. Dado que la Ley de Minas no prevé tal posibilidad, se examinan los instrumentos jurídicos que pudieran permitir articular jurídicamente el concurso pú- blico en el marco de la propia Ley de Minas: la reserva minera (art. 7 LMi) y la declaración de no registrabilidad (art. 39.3 LMi). Entre las dos opciones estudiadas, la Junta de Andalucía optó por ejercer la potestad de reserva definiendo y delimitando la “zona Aznalcóllar” y permitiendo la adjudicación de la Mina conforme a un procedimiento de concurrencia competitiva a través de del Decreto-ley 9/2013, de 17 de diciembre, por el que se articulan los procedimientos necesarios para la reapertura de la mina de Aznalcóllar. Este Decreto-ley, dio lugar al planteamiento de recurso de inconstitucionalidad interpuesto por el Gobierno. No obstante, y como resultado de las negociaciones políticas, el desbloqueo de la situación se articuló jurídicamente de una parte, a través del Decreto-ley estatal 6/2014, de 11 de abril, por el que se regula el otorgamiento de la explotación de los recursos mineros de la zona denominada «Aznalcóllar», y de otra parte, del Decreto-ley 4/2014, de 11 de abril, por el que se adoptan las medidas urgentes necesarias en relación con el procedimiento de reapertura de la mina de Aznalcóllar. El estudio concluye que no puede mantenerse una normativa preconstitucional para regular un sector tan complejo y de tanta trascendencia para la economía y el empleo de nuestro país. No lo permite nuestra Constitución ni el nuevo modelo de nuestro Estado de las Autonomías.The study stems from the opinion requested by the General Administration of Mines of the Ministry of Economy of the Regional Government of Andalusia and aims to analyze the technical articulation of the reopening of the Aznalcollar mine through an international competition. First it is analyzed the situation of research permits affected by the reopening project. The extinction of the requested permits raises two issues: on the one hand, the nature of the expiration of the mining titles that regulates the current Mining Law and, on the other hand, the compensation for damages of the expiration of mining permits. The system provided by the pre-constitutional Mining Law of 1973 in relation to the concession which is the supporting title for the exploitation of the resources of Section C, is the direct award based on the preference of holders of previous research. Nevertheless, we believe that, to the best guarantee of the general interest, the award procedure should be competitive examination. Since the Mining Law does not provide such possibility, the legal instruments that would allow to legally articulate the competition under the Mining Law are examined: mining reserve (art. 7 LMi) and the statement of non-registrability (art. 39 LMi). Between the two options studied, the Regional Government of Andalusia chose to exercise the reserve, defining and delimiting the “Aznacollar area” and allowing the award of the Mine in a competitive process by the Decree-Law 9/2013, December 17th, which articulates the procedures for the reopening of the Aznacollar mine. This Decree-Law led to the approach of a constitutional complaint filed by the Government. However, as a result of political negotiations that took place to resolve this crisis, the situation of the Aznalcollar mine was unlocked through two DecreeLaws: the Decree-Law 6/2014, November 11th, which regulates the granting of exploitation of mining resources, and the Decree-Law 4/2014, April 11th, for which the necessary urgent measures are adopted in relation to the process of reopening the Aznalcollar mine. The study concludes that it cannot be maintained a pre-constitutional legislation to regulate such a complex and of such importance to the economy and employment in our country. It is not permitted by our Constitution and the new model of the Autonomous State

Nuevas perspectivas sobre la gestión de los servicios locales: incidencia de la crisis económica y necesidad de racionalización del sector público instrumental

El presente trabajo constituye una reflexión acerca de las principales cuestiones a tener en cuenta a la hora de abordar una mejora del marco normativo regulador de la prestación de actividades y servicios por las entidades locales desde la perspectiva del Derecho comunitario, de la calidad de los servicios públicos y de una buena administración en un contexto de crisis económica y financiera. La crisis constituye una oportunidad para racionalizar la Administración y, en particular, el conglomerado de entes instrumentales que en el ámbito local ha alcanzado niveles desproporcionados. Por ello se analiza la reorganización derivada de la aprobación de los Planes de ajuste para acogerse al mecanismo de pago a proveedores previsto en el Real Decreto-ley 4/2012, de 24 de febrer

Minería y huella del carbono en España

El presente trabajo tiene por objeto el estudio del régimen jurídico de la huella de carbono en España como instrumento que estimo debe fomentarse para su aplicación específica a la minería con el fin de maximizar la contribución del sector a la transición energética y a la lucha contra el cambio climático

Algunas reflexiones sobre los servicios públicos e iniciativa económica local: Balance tras diez años de aprobación de la LRSAL

The aim of this paper is to reflect on local public services and local economic initiative as we approach the tenth anniversary of the enactment of Law 27/2013, of 27 December, on the Rationalisation and Sustainability of Local Administration (LRSAL). The aim is to take stock of its application, on the one hand, of the aspects that we consider to be most deficient and problematic in this area: in particular, the concept of local public service and its delimitation with local economic activities and, intimately related to this differentiation, the determination of the legally established procedure for the implementation and modification of the forms of provision of public services. These are therefore "old" problems that have yet to be resolved. It also examines the impact of the regional legislation on local government enacted after the LRSAL on the system for the management of public services and the exercise of local economic initiative. On the other hand, the LRSAL's successes include the incorporation of the perspective of the impact on the market and competition.  It also highlights the absence of a public policy on the quality of local public services.El trabajo tiene por objeto una reflexión acerca de los servicios públicos locales y la iniciativa económica local cuando se aproxima el décimo aniversario de la promulgación de la Ley 27/2013, de 27 de diciembre, de Racionalización y Sostenibilidad de la Administración local (LRSAL). Se trata de hacer un balance de su aplicación, de una parte, de los aspectos que estimamos más deficientes y problemáticos en esta materia: en particular el propio concepto de servicio público local y su delimitación con las actividades económicas locales e íntimamente relacionado con dicha diferenciación, la determinación del procedimiento legalmente establecido para la implantación y modificación de las formas de prestación de los servicios públicos. Se trata pues, de “viejos” problemas pendientes de resolver. Asimismo, se examina la incidencia de la legislación autonómica de régimen local promulgada tras la LRSAL en el régimen de gestión de los servicios públicos y ejercicio de la iniciativa económica local.  Entre los aciertos de la LRSAL se analiza la incorporación de la perspectiva del impacto sobre el mercado y la concurrencia. Asimismo, se pone de manifiesto la ausencia de una política pública sobre la calidad de los servicios públicos locales

Neotropical vegetation responses to Younger Dryas climates as analogs for future climate change scenarios and lessons for conservation.

The Younger Dryas (YD) climatic reversal (12.86-11.65 cal ky BP), especially the warming initiated at ∼12.6 cal ky BP, and the associated vegetation changes have been proposed as past analogs to forecast the potential vegetation responses to future global warming. In this paper, we applied this model to highland and midland Neotropical localities. We used pollen analysis of lake sediments to record vegetation responses to YD climatic changes, which are reconstructed from independent paleoclimatic proxies such as the Mg/Ca ratio on foraminiferal tests and Equilibrium Line Altitude (ELA) for paleotemperature, and grayscale density and Titanium content for paleoprecipitation. Paleoclimatic reconstructions at both highlands and midlands showed a clear YD signal with a conspicuous warming extending into the early Holocene. A small percentage of taxa resulted to be sensitive to these YD climate changes. Response lags were negligible at the resolution of the study. However, changes in the sensitive taxa were relevant enough to determine changes in biodiversity and taxonomic composition. Highland vegetation experienced mainly intra-community reorganizations, whereas midland vegetation underwent major changes leading to community substitutions. This was explained in terms of threshold-crossing non-linear responses in which the coupling of climatic and other forcings (fire) was proposed as the main driving mechanism. Paleoecology provides meaningful insights on the responses of highland and midland Neotropical vegetation to the YD climatic reversal. Biotic responses at both individual (species) and collective (assemblage) levels showed patterns and processes of vegetation change useful to understand its ecological dynamics, as well as the mechanisms and external drivers involved. The use of paleoecological methods to document the biotic responses to the YD climate shifts can be useful to help forecasting the potential consequences of future global warming. Due to its quasi-global character, the YD reversal emerges as a well suited candidate for providing useful insights of global scope by analyzing the corresponding biotic responses virtually at any geographical and biological setting

The neotropical Gran Sabana region: palaeoecology and conservation

The Gran Sabana (GS) is a key region for understanding the origin of neotropical savannas and is an ideal location to test ecological hypotheses on long-term vegetation dynamics under the action of natural and anthropogenic drivers. The conservation of the GS is a controversial issue because of the confluence of disparate cultural and socio-economic interests, with a strong debate surrounding fire practices by indigenous people. Late glacial to Holocene pollen and charcoal records obtained thus far in this region have documented the main palaeoecological trends along with the climatic and anthropogenic (mostly fire) drivers involved. Here we discuss how these records can be used to inform conservation and restoration practices in the GS. The main points of the discussion are the local vs. regional character of palaeoecological evidence, the support provided by this evidence for the existing fire management proposals and the role of spatiotemporal environmental and ecological heterogeneity in the definition and evaluation of realistic restoration targets. A general conclusion is that past ecological reconstructions do not fully support either of the current options for fire management, i.e., either total fire suppression or the continuity of indigenous fire practices. It is recommended to replace this dual and rigid conservation framework with a more diverse and flexible approach that considers the complex spatiotemporal heterogeneity documented in palaeoecological records

¿Un laboratorio en Ciencias Jurídicas? El laboratorio de justicia administrativa

Proyecto de aprendizaje de la jurisdicción contencioso-administrativa a través de una metodología inductiva combinada prestando especial atención al contacto directo con los órganos de la jurisdicción contencioso-administrativa y culminando para los alumnos seleccionados a través de un procedimiento de concurrencia competitiva con la visita al TS y al TC.This paper deals with a learning project regarding the contentious administrative jurisdiction through the application of a combined inductive methodology. It pays particular attention to the direct contact with the jurisdictional bodies in the mentioned field. The project finalises with a visit of shortlisted students (on the basis of a competitive procedure) to the Spanish Supreme Court and to the Constitutional Court