Da soberania e jurisdição do Brasil na zona econômica exclusiva e na plataforma continental: o caso Chevrom.

Abstract

The object of the present study is the Chevron case, an accident occurred in Campos dos Goytacazes, 107 km from the coast of the State of Rio de Janeiro, in the Brazilian Exclusive Economic Zone, between November 2011 and March 2012, which caused damages to the environment due to the oil exploration activity, focusing on issues relevant to the application of criminal law in maritime areas, highlighted by the denunciation of the federal public ministry and judicial decisions handed down in criminal proceedings whose application and outlines are not peaceful, which justifies the relevance of this study. Throughout this research, the maritime domain, sovereignty and jurisdiction of the Brazilian State in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and the Continental Shelf (CS) will be analyzed. The problem is focused on the identification of the sovereignty of Brazil as a Coastal State, of the sea, sea surface and subsoil, the application of its legislative and judicial powers; in the verification if the EEZ and CS are part of the Brazilian maritime territory; in identifying the applicable legal regime in case of environmental crimes arising from the exploitation of oil in these maritime areas; extraterritoriality or territoriality of criminal law. The systematized study of the national and international legal system, through concepts of International Law, Criminal Law and Environmental Law, showed that the conflicts of interpretations observed in the case occur because the legal regime of EEZs and CS, established in UNCLOS III, when dealing with the distinction between rights of sovereignty and the jurisdiction of the coastal State does not provide clear definitions of maritime borders, providing a variety of interpretations.