Brazil’s supreme court is considering several major cases which could reshape protections for the Amazon rainforest, after a mostly conservative Congress overrode several of leftist president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva’s environmental vetoes. The court is reviewing questions surrounding Indigenous land rights after rejecting the ‘time limit’ doctrine, which would have restricted claims to territories occupied or legally disputed when the 1988 constitution took effect. Indigenous communities argue that the doctrine ignores earlier forced displacement, while agribusiness representatives say clear deadlines will provide certainty for landowners. Judges will also consider the future of the soya moratorium, an agreement preventing major traders from buying soya grown on Amazon land deforested after 2008. In addition, the court faces a challenge to a new environmental licensing law which accelerates approval for mines, highways and industrial projects. Environmental groups warn the legislation could weaken safeguards; deforestation in the area has fallen to its lowest level in a decade.