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.
Constitutional Right to a Healthy Environment and Human Rights Approaches to Environmental Protection in Nigeria: Gbemre v. Shell Revisited
In recent years, there has been an increasing practice of incorporating the right to a healthy/clean environment into national constitutions. This practice can be found in various parts of the world. Importantly, the judiciary in many countries has not only enforced such a right but has increasingly tended to interpret other constitutionally guaranteed human rights, especially the right to life, to include the right to a healthy/clean environment. In Nigeria, there are various environmental concerns which raise the question of environmental protection. This article seeks to consider recent developments in Nigeria in relation to the constitutional right to a healthy/clean environment – more specifically, the adoption of the human rights approaches to environmental protection by a Nigerian Federal High Court judge in deciding a case of alleged environmental damage.
Energy skin effect of propellant particles in Electrothermal-Chemical Launcher
A numerical model of the radiation has been employed by a Monte Carlo method and statistical physics to simulate the process of a capillary plasma source for Electrothermal-Chemical (ETC) Launcher. The effect on propellants with different physical parameters is discussed. The plasma-propellant interaction is also discussed when combined with a thermal model. Results show that radiant energy only causes a small field around the plasma injector in the propellant bed. The responses of energy flux and propellant particles on radiation are both in the order of picosecond. The strong instantaneous radiation is responsible for the transmission of energy to the propellant particles leading to ignition. Compared with conventional ignition, the energy absorbed by propellant particles is used to increase quickly the temperature in the surface layer of propellant particles. This energy skin effect in the propellant particle surface appears to be the main cause of plasma ignition.