The Mechanism used by the Multinational Oil Company to derail Human Right Litigation

What is it about?

My article talks about the mechanism used by the Multinational oil company to derail litigation in order to avoid liability for environmental degradation abroad. This article specifically looked at the oil pollution in Nigeria by the Mnocs who have refused to remediate and compensate the local communities affected by the oil pollution. Multinational oil companies (MNOCs) claim that they have several corporate policies to protect human rights and the environment where they operate and to resolve any disputes with local communities arising from their operations in the shortest possible time. However, the combative approach by MNOCs in recent transnational human rights and environmental litigation from the Niger Delta undermines these obligations because they continually deny, delay and derail justice for the local communities.

Featured Image

Why is it important?

i) Victims of Human Rights and environmental violations The article will provide information to support victims seeking remediation and compensation from MNOCs and their subsidiaries for failing to respect their Human Rights obligations. One of the areas that will benefit victims is understanding the different types of human rights and environmental violations by MNOCs against victims of oil spills in Nigeria. Victims usually think of human rights violations as issues relating to oil spills. However, there are also types of human rights that are important if they are to make any successful legal claims against MNOCs and their subsidiaries. These types of human rights violations include transparency of oil operation, disclosure of evidence, labour rights, safety and security, oil pollution, remediation and compensation. For example, MNOCs will improve their procedure for preventing oil spills and maintaining oil pipelines knowing that they will be forced to disclose such information to victims in court by plaintiffs during litigation. (ii) MNOC and their subsidiaries: The proposed legal framework and recommendations will assist the MNOCs and their subsidiaries in improving human rights and the environment in the Niger Delta. One of the areas that MNOCs need to pay attention to is how they control and supervise the implementation of their groupwide policy, especially health and safety policies. For example, MNOCs need to pay attention to policies that relate to the repairs and maintenance of oil pipelines. A careful review of the litigations analysed in the thesis shows that the lack of adequate maintenance of oil pipelines has featured prominently in the litigations and is one of the strongest arguments put forward by the plaintiffs. This understanding will help MNOCs to pay more attention to the maintenance of their pipeline, thereby reducing incidences of oil spills in the Niger Delta. (iii) Governments of MNOCs home countries and subsidiaries' host countries The recommendations of the thesis will influence the governments of both MNOCs home country (e.g., Netherlands) and the subsidiaries host country (e.g., Nigeria) to enact laws to allow for MNOCs to be held liable and to also allow for their subsidiaries to be sanctioned. One of the areas that governments of MNOCs host countries need to pay attention to is how to determine the cause of oil spills. Under existing legislation in Nigeria, oil companies are not responsible for remediation and compensation for oil spills caused by sabotage or oil theft. By reforming this regulation, MNOCs and their subsidiaries will no longer be able to exploit this loophole to avoid remediation and compensation to victims of oil spills in the Niger Delta. (iv) Investors and Business community: The proposed legal framework will help potential business investors re-shape their business intentions knowing that they will be held accountable if their subsidiaries fail to protect human rights and the environment. Examples include information regarding the transparency of oil operations (e.g., oil spill data, pipeline repairs and maintenance procedures) entered into the company’s Sustainability Report and reports filed in the Security Exchange Commission. This information has to be accurate because the company could be sued for misleading investors, shareholders and the public. Such financial and reputational loss will be avoided, which will also help improve human rights and the environment in the Niger Delta.

Perspectives