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.
Supreme Court of Victoria
This link will take you to the Supreme Court of Victoria website, where you can find information on getting copies of existing divorce certificates dated up to 1976.
Right to a clean environment: the case for the people of oil-producing communities in the Nigerian delta
Commercial exploration and exploitation of Nigeria's petroleum resources began in 1956 when large deposits of hydrocarbon were discovered at Oloibiri in the present Rivers State of Nigeria. Since the delivery of the first consignment of crude oil to Europe in 1958, activities in Nigeria's oil industry have witnessed a dramatic increase. As the sixth largest producer in OPEC, Nigeria contributes nearly two million barrels of crude petroleum to the global oil market. Petrodollars from the sale of crude oil in the last four decades have brought a phenomenal change in the country's economy. Ironically, the oil industry, which has brought development to many parts of Nigeria, has become a source of misery to the people of oil-producing communities whose existence is now threatened by the scourge of oil pollution.