Wiwa v. Royal Dutch Shell fr

Country of proceedings: United-States
Context of crimes: Nigeria
Date: 1996 - 2009
Keywords: Crimes against humanity (murder, torture, inhuman acts, illegal detention), accountability (private contractors)

Court Documents

Wiwa v. Royal Dutch Petroleum C^oe
08-11-1996 - Original complaint
25-09-1998 - Motion to dismiss (forum non conveniens) granted
14-09-2000 - Appeal on Motion to dismiss (forum non conveniens)
22-02-2002 - Motion to dismiss (lack of legal basis) rejected
16-03-2009 - 5^th amended complaint
18-03-2009 - Motion to dismiss (RICO claims) granted
23-04-2009 - Motion to dismiss (lack of subject matter jurisdiction) granted (part) dismissed (part)

Wiwa v. Brian Anderson
05-03-2001 - Original complaint
22-02-2002 - Motion to dismiss (lack of legal basis) rejected
12-09-2003 - 2^nd amended complaint
16-03-2009 - 3^rd amended complaint
18-03-2009 - Motion to dismiss (RICO claims) granted
23-04-2009 - Motion to dismiss (lack of subject matter jurisdiction) granted (part) dismissed (part)

Wiwa v. Shell Petroleum Development C^oe
05-04-2004 - Complaint
04-03-2008 - Case dismissed (jurisdictional discovery denied)
03-06-2009 - Summary order (US Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit)

Settlement agreements
07-06-2009 - Settlement agreement
08-08-2009 - Settlement agreement and mutual release
08-08-2009 - Settlement agreement and order

Additional information
Center for Constitutional Rights
(The CCR is among the counsels representing the victims)

Presentation of the case
Wiwa v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, Wiwa v. Anderson, and Wiwa v. Shell Petroleum Development Company are three lawsuits filed by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) and co-counsel from Earth Right International on behalf of relatives of murdered activists who were fighting for human rights and environmental justice in the oil rich Niger Delta region, in Nigeria. The plaintiffs argue that Shell had a close relationship with the Nigerian military regime during the early 1990s and collaborated with the dictature by providing monetary and logistical support, hereby being complicit to human rights violations and crimes against humanity.

Royal Dutch Shell and Brian Anderson, the head of its Nigerian operation, are accused of crimes against humanity such as summary execution, torture, inhuman treatment, and arbitrary arrest and detention. The cases were brought under the Alien Tort Statute, a 1789 statute giving non-U.S. citizens the right to file suits in U.S. courts for international human rights violations, and the Torture Victim Protection Act, which allows individuals to seek damages in the U.S. for torture or extrajudicial killing, regardless of where the violations take place.

The United States District Court for the Southern District of New York has set a trial date of May 27, 2009.

On 7 June 2009, the two parties announced their decision to settle their claims out of court. Shell agreed to pay the plaintiffs a sum of $15.5 million "on humanitarian ground", and did not have to acknowledge any responsibility in the incidents underlying the claim.