Comunicato Stampa

"Clouds" Above Paranal

21 Aprile 1994

ESO, the European Southern Observatory, in reply to questions raised by the media would like to clarify its position with regard to recent events which concern the land on which the Paranal mountain is situated.

THE DECISION TO BUILD THE VLT AT PARANAL

In December 1987, the Council [1] of the European Southern Observatory decided to build the largest optical telescope in the world, the 16-metre equivalent Very Large Telescope (VLT) [2], before the end of the century and at a total cost that was expected to approach 500 million DEM.

Already several years before that, ESO had started a search for the best possible site for this new giant telescope. At the time of Council's decision, intensive investigations at various sites in the Chilean Atacama desert had effectively narrowed down the choice to two possibilities, the Vizcachas mountain near La Silla, and the Paranal mountain, located approx. 130 km south of Antofagasta, the capital of the Chilean Region II. The meteorological data measured by the ESO teams favoured Paranal, especially in terms of number of clear nights and amount of turbulence in the atmosphere.

However, while Vizcachas is situated on land that had earlier been acquired by ESO, this was not the case for the Paranal mountain.

ESO was therefore very pleased to learn in 1988 that the Chilean government had decided to donate an area of 725 sq. km around Paranal to this Organisation, on the condition that it would be decided within the next five years to construct the VLT at this site. The size of this land is dictated by the need to avoid any activities (e.g., mining) which may adversely influence the exceedingly sensitive astronomical observations with the VLT. The offer was gratefully accepted by the ESO Council and in November 1988 ESO became owner of the land.

After further detailed considerations of the scientific and technical implications, the ESO Council during its December 1990 meeting decided to construct the VLT on Paranal [3], thus fulfilling the condition attached to the donation.

The excavation work began at Paranal in 1992. When it was over in late 1993, a total of 300,000 m^3 of rock had been removed, creating a platform large enough for the extensive VLT installations at the top. In December 1993, ESO signed a contract with the Swedish firm SKANSKA-Belfry Ltd. for the construction of the VLT foundations and buildings. The team from this firm joined the other contractors (geological survey, installation of water tanks, etc.) at Paranal in January 1994.

LEGAL PROBLEMS AROUND PARANAL

However, in March 1993, the descendants of Admiral Juan Jose Latorre claimed that a part of the land which was donated to ESO and, in particular, the site upon which the VLT is to be constructed, had earlier been given to the admiral in return for his services to his fatherland during the Chilean wars of the late 19th century. The Latorre family introduced with the Court of Antofagasta a law suit against the State of Chile and against ESO, demanding that its property in this part of the land be recognized, that the land be returned and that damage be paid.

The law suit and several legal actions of the Latorre family connected therewith have been brought to the attention of the public. Related public statements require that ESO makes the following comments and corrections. This is all the more the case since ESO enjoys in Chile a special legal status, the particulars of which are not well known there, apparently not even among members of the legal profession.

The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere is an International Organisation which carries out its official activities in Chile on the basis of an international treaty that operates between the Government of Chile and ESO. The relations between the Organisation and the Republic of Chile are thus relations between two subjects of international law and they are as such exclusively governed by international law, in particular by the said treaty, i.e., the Convention concluded between ESO and the Government of Chile in 1963.

As this is usual in the relations between International Organisations and their host states, this treaty has been further developed during the years. And as this typically occurs between subjects of international law, related changes have been confirmed by the exchange of diplomatic notes. In an exchange of notes which took place during 1983/1984, the Government of Chile and ESO agreed in particular that ESO's privileges and immunities which derive from the 1963 Convention shall also apply to all future astronomical observatories which ESO would install in Chile with the agreement of the Government.

The Republic of Chile has donated to ESO the Paranal site for the very purpose to erect on Cerro Paranal the Very Large Telescope. The Government thus granted the site to ESO in order to enable the Organisation to fulfill its official purposes in Chile. Consequently, the grant of the land took place within the framework of the existing treaty relations between the Republic of Chile and ESO. In the event that there would be a dispute between these two subjects of international law on any aspect of the matter, Article X of the Convention would apply which provides for dispute settlement by way of international arbitration.

For these reasons ESO could not be involved in the legal dispute pending between the Government of Chile and the Latorre family before the Chilean courts. ESO feels that this dispute constitutes an internal Chilean matter. For the same reasons, ESO has requested the Supreme Court of Chile to apply and enforce in this dispute the Organisation's jurisdictional immunity and the exemption of its possessions from any public, even judicial, interference, as ESO is entitled under the applicable treaty provisions.

ESO notes with satisfaction that the Supreme Court of Chile has recently issued a decision which recognizes the Organisation's privileges and immunities. However, during a first stage of the other legal actions taken by the Latorre family against ESO and its project to erect the VLT there seemed to be a risk that the lower courts in Chile would not be sufficiently familiar with the Organisation's particular status [4].

In order to reduce this risk, ESO has again resorted to the usual means of communication with the Government of Chile and has asked the Government in a recent "Nota Verbal" to clarify and explain the issue of its privileges and immunities to all competent Chilean authorities, including the courts.

Since ESO has been founded and is funded by eight European States, it is obvious that the Latorre complaint and the various actions of the Latorre family have caused the concern of the ESO member states. It is also nothing more than the usual practice among states that the ESO member states have notified their concern to the Government of Chile by way of a diplomatic note. Of course, neither ESO nor the ESO member states would be able to or even intend to exercise any influence on internal Chilean affairs.

On 15 April 1994, a delegation of the ambassadors of the ESO member states to Chile met with the Minister Secretary of the Presidency, G. Arriagada, and the Under Secretary of Foreign Affairs, J. Insulza, to discuss the Paranal legal problems.

ESO expects that the Chilean courts will eventually decide on the Latorre complaint and it trusts that any consequence such decision may have for its activities on Paranal will be settled between the Government and ESO according to the principles and rules of international law applicable in such situation.

MOST RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

The judge of Antofagasta has rejected another Latorre request for preliminary injunction against ESO to stop the works at Paranal (and also held that ESO cannot, for the time being, sell the mountain).

Yesterday, 20 April 1994, the Chilean Supreme Court in plenary session rejected by a 10/4 vote the request by the Latorre party to send a "Visiting Judge" to Taltal and Antofagasta. It therefore appears that the Chilean courts have come to accept ESO's status and legal position.

The ESO Council has decided to hold an extraordinary meeting at the ESO Headquarters in Garching on 28 April 1994, to discuss the above mentioned developments and to decide about the future actions by this Organisation.

[1] The Council of ESO consists of two representatives from each of the eight member states. It is the highest authority of the organisation and normally meets twice a year.

[2] See eso8716.

[3] See eso9011.

[4] One specific, recent incident has been widely reported: On 17 March 1994, the Latorre party filed with the civil judge of Taltal (the provincial town nearest Paranal) a request aiming at a court injunction against ESO's contractor SKANSKA-Belfi Ltd., for a prohibition to "effect new works" on its alleged property. On 23 March 1994, the judge appeared on Paranal, ordering to close the operations of the contractor. The court order was revoked by the judge of Taltal on 15 April 1994, and the work at Paranal has now started again. However, this work stoppage has incurred significant losses and a damage claim is now being considered.

Connect with ESO on social media

Sul Comunicato Stampa

Comunicato Stampa N":eso9407
Legacy ID:PR 07/94
Nome:Chile, Paranal, Very Large Telescope
Tipo:Unspecified : Technology : Observatory
Facility:Very Large Telescope

Immagini


Mandateci i vostri commenti!
Iscrivetevi per ricevere le notizie dell'ESO nella vostra lingua
Accelerated by CDN77
Termini & Condizioni
Cookie Settings and Policy

Our use of Cookies

We use cookies that are essential for accessing our websites and using our services. We also use cookies to analyse, measure and improve our websites’ performance, to enable content sharing via social media and to display media content hosted on third-party platforms.

You can manage your cookie preferences and find out more by visiting 'Cookie Settings and Policy'.

ESO Cookies Policy


The European Organisation for Astronomical Research in the Southern Hemisphere (ESO) is the pre-eminent intergovernmental science and technology organisation in astronomy. It carries out an ambitious programme focused on the design, construction and operation of powerful ground-based observing facilities for astronomy.

This Cookies Policy is intended to provide clarity by outlining the cookies used on the ESO public websites, their functions, the options you have for controlling them, and the ways you can contact us for additional details.

What are cookies?

Cookies are small pieces of data stored on your device by websites you visit. They serve various purposes, such as remembering login credentials and preferences and enhance your browsing experience.

Categories of cookies we use

Essential cookies (always active): These cookies are strictly necessary for the proper functioning of our website. Without these cookies, the website cannot operate correctly, and certain services, such as logging in or accessing secure areas, may not be available; because they are essential for the website’s operation, they cannot be disabled.

Cookie ID/Name
Description/Purpose
Provider (1st party or 3rd party)
Browser session cookie or Stored cookie?
Duration
csrftoken
XSRF protection token. We use this cookie to protect against cross-site request forgery attacks.
1st party
Stored
1 year
user_privacy
Your privacy choices. We use this cookie to save your privacy preferences.
1st party
Stored
6 months
_grecaptcha
We use reCAPTCHA to protect our forms against spam and abuse. reCAPTCHA sets a necessary cookie when executed for the purpose of providing its risk analysis. We use www.recaptcha.net instead of www.google.com in order to avoid unnecessary cookies from Google.
3rd party
Stored
6 months

Functional Cookies: These cookies enhance your browsing experience by enabling additional features and personalization, such as remembering your preferences and settings. While not strictly necessary for the website to function, they improve usability and convenience; these cookies are only placed if you provide your consent.

Cookie ID/Name
Description/Purpose
Provider (1st party or 3rd party)
Browser session cookie or Stored cookie?
Duration
Settings
preferred_language
Language settings. We use this cookie to remember your preferred language settings.
1st party
Stored
1 year
ON | OFF
sessionid
ESO Shop. We use this cookie to store your session information on the ESO Shop. This is just an identifier which is used on the server in order to allow you to purchase items in our shop.
1st party
Stored
2 weeks
ON | OFF

Analytics cookies: These cookies collect information about how visitors interact with our website, such as which pages are visited most often and how users navigate the site. This data helps us improve website performance, optimize content, and enhance the user experience; these cookies are only placed if you provide your consent. We use the following analytics cookies.

Matomo Cookies:

This website uses Matomo (formerly Piwik), an open source software which enables the statistical analysis of website visits. Matomo uses cookies (text files) which are saved on your computer and which allow us to analyze how you use our website. The website user information generated by the cookies will only be saved on the servers of our IT Department. We use this information to analyze www.eso.org visits and to prepare reports on website activities. These data will not be disclosed to third parties.

On behalf of ESO, Matomo will use this information for the purpose of evaluating your use of the website, compiling reports on website activity and providing other services relating to website activity and internet usage.

ON | OFF

Matomo cookies settings:

Cookie ID/Name
Description/Purpose
Provider (1st party or 3rd party)
Browser session cookie or Stored cookie?
Duration
Settings
_pk_id
Stores a unique visitor ID.
1st party
Stored
13 months
_pk_ses
Session cookie temporarily stores data for the visit.
1st party
Stored
30 minutes
_pk_ref
Stores attribution information (the referrer that brought the visitor to the website).
1st party
Stored
6 months
_pk_testcookie
Temporary cookie to check if a visitor’s browser supports cookies (set in Internet Explorer only).
1st party
Stored
Temporary cookie that expires almost immediately after being set.

Additional Third-party cookies on ESO websites: some of our pages display content from external providers, e.g. YouTube.

Such third-party services are outside of ESO control and may, at any time, change their terms of service, use of cookies, etc.

YouTube: Some videos on the ESO website are embedded from ESO’s official YouTube channel. We have enabled YouTube’s privacy-enhanced mode, meaning that no cookies are set unless the user actively clicks on the video to play it. Additionally, in this mode, YouTube does not store any personally identifiable cookie data for embedded video playbacks. For more details, please refer to YouTube’s embedding videos information page.

Cookies can also be classified based on the following elements.

Regarding the domain, there are:

As for their duration, cookies can be:

How to manage cookies

Cookie settings: You can modify your cookie choices for the ESO webpages at any time by clicking on the link Cookie settings at the bottom of any page.

In your browser: If you wish to delete cookies or instruct your browser to delete or block cookies by default, please visit the help pages of your browser:

Please be aware that if you delete or decline cookies, certain functionalities of our website may be not be available and your browsing experience may be affected.

You can set most browsers to prevent any cookies being placed on your device, but you may then have to manually adjust some preferences every time you visit a site/page. And some services and functionalities may not work properly at all (e.g. profile logging-in, shop check out).

Updates to the ESO Cookies Policy

The ESO Cookies Policy may be subject to future updates, which will be made available on this page.

Additional information

For any queries related to cookies, please contact: pdprATesoDOTorg.

As ESO public webpages are managed by our Department of Communication, your questions will be dealt with the support of the said Department.