In a
landmark legal case, Nigerian farmers are suing the oil giant Shell in a Dutch
court, asking judges to order the company to clean up environmental damage it
is claimed was caused by leaking pipes.
The case
breaks new legal ground because this is the first time that a Dutch company is
being sued for alleged environmental mismanagement caused by an overseas
subsidiary.
Villagers
say a leak in June 2005 fouled fish ponds, farmland and forests in Oruma in the
Niger Delta. They claim it took Shell 12 days to seal the leaking pipe and
blame the spill on corrosion on a pressurized underground pipe. Shell claims it
was caused by sabotage.
The huge
damage caused by half a century of oil exploitation in the Niger Delta was
documented in a study by the United Nations in 2011. Experts focused on
Ogoniland, an area badly hit by oil pollution. The study's findings were
horrifying. It would take 30 years to clean up the region and the price tag
could be as high as a billion dollars. But who is responsible for the
pollution?
 |
| A Dutch company is being sued over alleged damage caused by an overseas subsidary |
Double
standards
Geert
Ritsema works for the Dutch NGO Milieudefensie. He believes the responsibility
for the leak in Oruma lies with Shell. That's why, together with four Nigerian
farmers, he is taking the concern to court. He accuses multinational companies
like Shell of double standards. "Companies like Shell behave completely
differently in a country like Nigeria than they behave in Europe. It would be
unthinkable here that an oil company pollutes the land of a farmer with oil and
then simply leaves it there for years" he said.
 |
| A UN study concluded it would take 30 years to clean up the Niger Delta |
The NGO and
the Nigerian farmers want new pipelines installed so that there are no more
leaks. they also want a comprehensive clean-up of the land and the ground water
and compensation for the farmers and fishermen who lost their livelihoods.
Legal
hurdles
Only rarely
are companies taken to court in Europe for deeds committed overseas. The legal
situation is often difficult to fathom. Can a case outside Europe lie within
the jurisdiction of a European court? There are many hurdles to surmount, says
Liesbeth Enneking from the University of Utrecht, who is doing research into
the liability of multinational corporations in such circumstances. This latest
Shell case forms part of her dissertation. It is not only legal costs that stop
cases reaching court. Evidence can also be hard to come by.
 |
| Shell says the pipeline leak was caused by sabotage, villagers blame corrosion |
Subsidiary
must also shoulder responsibility
Why was the
oil spilled? Was it sabotage or poor maintenance? How often was maintenance
carried out on the pipeline? What did Shell do after the oil leaked? How much
influence does Shell have over Nigerian pipelines and how are they operated?
These are some of the questions the NGO and the farmers wanted answered. The
assertion that responsibility lay solely with Shell's subsidiary in Nigeria has
already been rejected by the judges in the Hague.
This is
setting a legal precedent. "It is now possible not only to sue the parent
company of a multinational concern in a Dutch court, but a subsidiary based
abroad as well," said Enneking.
 |
| Liesbeth Enneking: "When they feel they might lose, multinationals tend to settle out of court" |
The only
other similar case in Europe was heard before a court in London. In the United
States, criminal cases against multinationals are far more common. There the
law tends to be more favorable for the plaintiff, said Enneking. However, many
cases end without a verdict.
Instead of
risking a ruling to their disadvantage, many multinationals chose to settle out
of court by making appropriate financial arrangements. This avoids a ruling
which might set a precedent, thereby triggering yet more hostile litigation.
The fear of
damage to a company's image is huge. Shell put the allegations contained in the
UN report on its Nigerian website. Its Nigerian managers insisted they shared
the concerns arising out of the oil spills. But when contacted by DW about the
case in the Hague, Shell declined to comment.
 |
The Nigerian farmers and their legal team argue that Shell
could have prevented the spills
|
Related Articles:
Nigeria oil spills: Shell rejects liability claim
Nigeria oil spills: Dutch case against Shell to begin
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