Establishing Liability for Multinational Oil Companies in Parent/Subsidiary Relationships
A number of significant legal challenges impede the attribution of liability to parent corporations for the overseas operations of their subsidiaries. The multinational reach of these entities’ activities raise questions as to which forum is appropriate to hear the case, under which state’s jurisdiction an action may be brought and as to which state’s domestic law should be applied. The elaborate corporate structures exhibited by many multinational corporations (MNCs), which often incorporate holding companies, joint ventures and external contractors, serve to complicate matters still further. The recent case of Akpan & Anor v Royal Dutch Shell plc & Anor dealt with these issues in an environmental context. The case formed part of a class action suit brought by Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands), a Dutch non-governmental organisation (NGO) promoting environmental protection, and four Nigerian farmers. The farmers had all experienced damage to their farmlands and fishing ponds resulting from numerous oil spills across three proximate regions between 2004 and 2007. Akpan, the only successful applicant, is a farmer and fisherman residing in the village of Ikot Ada Udo, Nigeria. Throughout the course of the action, all four Nigerian applicants were supported by Milieudefensie, which itself attempted to bring claims against both the parent company and its wholly owned subsidiary as a third party.
Legal Change in Africa: evidence from oil-related litigation in Nigeria
There has been a significant rise in litigation between oil companies and those affected by oil operations in Nigerian courts. In the period 1981–86, 24 compensation claims against Shell went to court in Nigeria. In early 1998, Shell was reportedly involved in over 500 pending court cases in Nigeria, out of which 70 per cent, or roughly 350 cases, dealt with oil spills, the other 30 per cent, or 150 cases, dealt mostly with other types of damage from oil operations, contracts, employment and taxation. In the whole of the 1980s, Chevron reportedly had only up to c. 50 court cases in Nigeria. In early 1998, Chevron was involved in over 200 cases, of which 80–90 per cent, or roughly 160–180 cases, dealt with oil spills, other types of damage from oil operations or land acquisition for oil operations. This substantial increase cannot be solely ascribed to expanding oil operations. There are various indications that an increase in the quantity of oil-related litigation was accompanied by legal change. In the 1990s, a number of high profile cases have been won by the local people in the oil-producing areas, notably Shell v. Farah, in which c. 4.6 million Naira (c. US$210,000 according to the official exchange rate) was awarded as damages to the plaintiffs.
Suppressed Light Emission of the Reaction Zone in Detonation
THE detonation of high explosives in water can be photographed with an open camera and a flash light as the explosive gases do not emit light. The method has been used1 to investigate the spread of shock waves and explosive gases, and to investigate the initiation by shock waves2. We have found that it can be used also in certain gases such as butane and propane. The method is not suitable, on the other hand, for explosives with two levels of detonation velocity in the case of low velocity. A great part of the reaction then occurs after the reaction zone has passed and the expanding explosive gases are very luminous even in water.