As for Shell…

Four Nigerian farmers, aided by the Dutch branch of Friends of the Earth, have managed to prosecute the multinational Shell for polluting the Niger Delta between 2004 and 2007. Today the case has been declared admissible by a civil court in The Hague, i.e., in a different country and continent to the alleged dumping, and could set a legal precedent. If the Dutch court indeed holds Shell responsible for not (properly) cleaning up oil pollution in Nigeria, the Anglo-Dutch company would face paying millions in compensation for victims; it should also heighten their safety standards abroad to macht those applied in Europe. What’s more, the door to more transnational legal cases would be open. Victims of violations of environmental standards and human rights perpetrated by Western multinationals would be expected to seek satisfaction through a civil court in the Netherlands and possibly in other EU counties as well.