Multinational firms find themselves increasingly exposed at home for actions taken at all points along their global supply chain (Issues: Litigation, p245). The article in the url below describes a case brought by a UK law firm against a UK Headquartered firm on behalf of victims in a poisoning case in the Ivory Coast:
“The Ivorian case centres on an incident in 2006 in which 500 tonnes of waste was allegedly discharged from the Trafigura chartered vessel, the Probo Koala, around the lagoon city of Abidjan. The Ivorian government said the dumping caused poisoning that killed 10 people and led more than 100,000 to seek medical advice.”
The UK law firm is able to bring the action against the UK firm in London, rather than in the jurisdiction of the location of the incident (the Ivory Coast), because of recent EU legislation:
“The case highlights how a landmark European Court of Justice judgment has made it easier for groups of litigants to launch legal claims in the European courts. Mr Day says he was able to bring the case in London thanks to the 2005 European ruling, which gave any claimant an automatic right to sue in the defendant's home country.”
Rightly or wrongly, firms are increasingly being held accountable for their actions and the actions of their partners worldwide. Consequently, even if they do not feel a moral or (locally) legal obligation to do so, self-interest demands they exert greater control over their global supply chains and production processes:
“The Ivorian case may give at least a taste of what is to come if collective actions move into the European mainstream, rather than remaining the preserve of niche firms in turbulent places. Then - whether they think it fair or not - companies will potentially be on more hazardous legal terrain. As Mr Day puts it: "I would hope that in 10 years this would become the norm."”
Take care
Dave
Bill Werther & David Chandler
Strategic Corporate Social Responsibility
© Sage Publications, 2006
http://www.sagepub.com/Werther
Lawyers in a hunt for big game.
By MICHAEL PEEL
1144 words
31 January 2008
Financial Times
London Ed1
Page 14
http://search.ft.com/nonFtArticle?id=080131000067&ct=0
