The legal offensive against illegal extraction in the South Atlantic took a decisive institutional step this afternoon . In a resolution signed at 11:54 a.m. today—within Case File FCR 13706/2026 —Judge Mariel Borruto , presiding over the Federal Court of First Instance of Río Grande, formally declared the court's competence and the international jurisdiction of the Argentine Republic to hear the preventive action brought against the corporations Rockhopper Exploration plc and Navitas Petroleum Development and Production Limited (NPDP) .

The judicial resolution, adopted in full compliance with Opinion No. 267/2026 of the Public Prosecutor's Office , validates the action initiated digitally last Tuesday, September 1, by the Center of Ex Combatants of the Malvinas Islands of La Plata (CECIM) and the Argentine Association of Environmental Lawyers (AAdeAA) .

The ruling confirms that the federal courts located on Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego have full authority to judge the maneuvers of the British-Israeli consortium on the North Malvinas Basin.

The three pillars of competition: admiralty, ecology, and sovereignty

By basing her territorial and material authority on Articles 116 of the National Constitution, the Hydrocarbons Law (Law 26,659 amended by Law 26,915) and the law of provincialization of Tierra del Fuego (Law 23,775), the magistrate structured her decision on three core arguments:

Collective proceedings and the deferral of precautionary measures

The judge also validated the collective nature of the action brought by the veterans and the environmental lawyers, defining that the claim protects a right of collective impact where a possible sentence could not reach some and leave others out.

In that regard, he ordered that an official letter be sent through the Lex100 system to the Public Registry of Collective Processes of the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation (Resolution 32/2014) to verify if there is another similar case already registered.

Regarding the requested precautionary measures —which seek a court order to halt physical works, suspend drilling, and prevent stock market transactions and international financing—, Borruto decided to defer consideration until the plaintiff complies with three formal procedural requirements within five (5) days:

1.     Submit a sworn statement confirming that they did not initiate any other similar action.

2.     Accompany the public translation of the incorporated documentary in a foreign language (corporate and technical reports of the oil companies).

3.     Attach suitable digital support for the individual documents via direct web links.

Once these steps have been completed, the court will be in an operational position to resolve the appropriateness of the injunction against the corporations.

Melella faces a crossroads: 10 days to appear in the case

The most controversial point on the provincial political front lies in section VII of the court ruling. Granting the request of the federal prosecutor, Judge Borruto formally granted the Province of Tierra del Fuego, Antarctica and the South Atlantic Islands the right to intervene, giving the State Attorney's Office ten (10) days to take action in defense of the provincial State's patrimonial and environmental interests.

The magistrate based the summons on the fact that the occupied waters and islands are part of the Fuegian territory (Law 23,775 modified by Law 26,552) and that the original ownership of the natural resources existing in their jurisdiction belongs to the provinces (Art. 124 of the National Constitution and Arts. 54 and 81 of the Fuegian Constitution) .

The legal summons puts Governor Gustavo Melella in a difficult position. After years of refusing to be a plaintiff in the 2015 case, and amidst the crisis surrounding the dispatch of the British vessel VS PROMISE from Cullen, the Tierra del Fuego government can no longer remain on the sidelines by hiding behind administrative silence.

The Federal Court has formally opened the procedural door: now the provincial administration must decide whether to appear in Río Grande to defend the province's resources or whether to persist in its judicial desertion while the ex-combatants maintain the litigation against the Malvinas oil companies alone .