In the afternoon of Dec 05, the Federal Court of Curitiba (Parana, Brazil) determined the suspension of "any deliberation regarding the administrative process 12000.005154/1998-36, until the Federal Government makes any statement”. The referred process is related to the commercial release of Bayer's herbicide-tolerant maize, genetically modified to tolerate gluphosinate.

The civil court case was proposed by the NGOs Terra de Direitos, AS-PTA and IDEC (Consumer's Protection Institute), because CTNBio (National Technical Comission on Biosafety) denied - without justifying its decision - to carry out a Public Hearing, granted by the law and resquested by the same NGOs in October 18, 2006. The National Association of Small Farmers (ANPA) - which gathers more than 80,000 farmers all over the country - had also requested the Public Hearing at the time.

For the NGOs, the Public Hearing is essential for the transparency of the procedures and for the society to be properly informed about the impacts related to the commercial release of the GM maize. The main basis for the court case is the Federal Constitution, which includes the democracy principle and guarantees to all citizens the right to participate in decisions that may directly affect them, specially regarding environmental issues.

According to Maria Rita Reis, from Terra de Direitos, "Biosafety is an issue of public interest. There is no reason why the future of agriculture, the biodiversity and people's health should be decided
behind closed doors. This would be a huge step back".

"We had to go to Justice, because some CTNBio members are resisting to legal mechanisms that ensure transparency and participation in the decision-making process, such as the presence of the Public Prosecutor and the Public Hearings", highlighted Gabriel Fernandes, from AS-PTA.

Marilena Lazzarini, IDEC's institutional coordinator, said that “There are many aspects in the GM maize release process which need to be further discussed with scientists that do not participate in CTNBio and with civil society, such as the impacts to consumers' health. There is no arguments for CTNBio to not want to open up a discussion that will only contribute to a more serious and responsible decision".

The NGOs are confident that Brazilian Justice will ensure the democratic right of participation, because this is a principle granted by the Federal Constitution and also because there is no damage for the researches on the area or for the Federal Government in carrying out the Public Hearing.