In a major victory for Costa Rica's environmental movement, on Nov. 30 the First Chamber of the country's Supreme Court upheld a lower court's November 2010 decision canceling a concession for an open-pit gold mine in Crucitas [owned by Infinito Gold]. The Supreme Court's ruling also nullified Environment and Energy Ministry executive decree 34801...The court told the Public Ministry to "start an investigation to determine whether it is proper to pursue a criminal case against" [former president] Arias, former vice president Roberto Dobles Mora and six other former officials. Infinito Gold...indicated it might go to international bodies to try to get back the $127 million it had invested in the mine...Arias' 2008 decree that the mine was in the national interest let Infinito Gold keep the concession for the project despite serious concerns about its environmental impact...