Moot, in the vernacular of North American English 'moot' tends to mean 'of little or no practical value or meaning; purely academic; not actual; theoretical or hypothetical'. You're right as to the proper Oxford definition, of course, but that's a moot point -g-
You and I and a number of others end up with the same conclusions, though, or maybe 'lack of conclusions' would be more accurate. Law in general, and Latin American mining law in particular, is complex. All the attempts to paint it as cut and dried by the Carsons, the Asensios, the Bishops, and their respective proponents on the threads, just lead me to doubt their grasp of the case. I have had some direct experience with Latin American courts, never a Supreme Court and never in Venezuela and never concerning mining law - but I believe some general principles apply. Even the Chief Justice in this case has noted the complexity of the case. There will be room for interpretation of law, room for the court to decide its version of fairness.
The Court will act in the best interests of the nation of Venezuela, period. It is widely regarded as honest, ie its decisions are not subject to the personal corruption of its members, unlike some other court systems in the vicinity.
The best interests of the nation of Venezuela are served, imho, not by negating the legitimate claim to LC of Inversora Mael, nor by ejecting Placer from the country without compensation for its investment in a game whose rules it was following at the time of making that investment, but by limiting the damage caused by the history of the conflicting claims. So I do not see a decision coming that is 100% in favor of one side or the other.
At this time, both the mining law and the composition of the Supreme Court are before the legisature. The possibility of a legislated solution to the question of rightful ownership of mining claims in V should not be discounted, imho.
Tripped across a map; lonelyplanet.com.au
Some newspapers;
el-universal.com - has search engine (motor de busqueda)
lahora.com
elvenezolano.com
abrir.com - de Miami, EEUU
letras-online.com - from the university, has great comics;
letras-online.com
.......... cheers .................... marcos |
