ABSTRACT
The first case before the North American Commission on Environmental Cooperation (CEC), created by the environmental side agreement to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), was the Cozumel case against the Mexican government. Brought by several civil society organisations, it was the first ever to go through the entire Article 14-15 process. The Cozumel case had several environmentally beneficial effects, in a wide variety of ways. There is also uncertainty with respect to how much time the member countries have to respond to the CEC. In Mexico, the reaction of the environmental authorities was very negative. They asserted that the three environmental nongovernmental organizations (ENGOs) were mostly concerned with protecting commercial interests. They claimed the groups were anti-Mexicans acting against the interests of the Republic. On 12 February, the CEC asked for a response from the Mexican government, which made no public statement.
