Nation and Mendoza Request Supreme Court Resolution of Los Nihuiles Royalties Dispute

The national government and Mendoza Province filed separate briefs before the Federal Court of Santa Rosa, La Pampa, requesting that it recuse itself from continuing intervention in the case related to hydroelectric royalties from the Los Nihuiles System and urgently remit proceedings to the highest court. Both jurisdictions agreed that the dispute is already pending before the Supreme Court of Justice of the Nation and should be resolved in that forum.

Federal Jurisdiction Arguments

The motions presented by the Nation and Mendoza are based on the fact that the disputed matter—hydroelectric royalties generated by the Los Nihuiles System—already forms part of a proceeding before the Supreme Court originally initiated by the Province against the national government. In that proceeding, La Pampa Province was already incorporated as a directly interested third party, which according to both submissions demonstrates that the case in question constitutes a matter that should be resolved centrally by the highest court.

Mendoza's Unified Position

Mendoza was the first to raise its motion before the Supreme Court, expressly requesting that the court require the La Pampa court to refrain from intervening and transfer with urgent priority all proceedings and related cases linked to the same dispute. Now, with the filing by the Nation, the Province reaffirms its procedural strategy of centralizing discussion of Los Nihuiles hydroelectric royalties within the Supreme Court, avoiding fragmentation of legal criteria in lower courts.

Litigation Context

The Los Nihuiles System is a hydroelectric complex of regional significance that generates electricity by harnessing water resources that cross multiple jurisdictions. The dispute over royalties owed to each province has resulted in litigation of a constitutional and administrative nature requiring clear determinations on tax competence and benefit distribution between the national government and the provinces involved.