The case could make corporations liable for acts of torture and genocide.
By . Agence France-Presse March 5, 2012
The U.S. Supreme Court decided Monday to hear arguments a second time in a dispute between oil giant Royal Dutch Shell and Nigerian victims of torture. The Supreme Court heard a first round of arguments by attorneys last week on the issue of large companies’ responsibility for human rights violations committed outside the United States.
The case could make corporations liable for acts of torture and genocide.
In an unusual decision, the nine justices announced they would hear the matter again at their next session in fall 2012 before ruling on the case. They asked the parties to clarify their written arguments before spring.
The case involves 12 Nigerians who accuse Shell of “complicity in human rights violations committed against them in the Ogoni region of the Niger Delta in Nigeria between 1992 and 1995.”
“These violations included torture, extrajudicial executions and crimes against humanity,” their complaint says.