In US and Ecuadorian courts, farmers have sued DynCorp (a private contractor the US and Colombian government authorised under a plan to eradicate drug production) for its widespread use of toxic anti-drug sprays which caused local farmers severe physical and property damage.
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In US courts, Jordanian-based Arab Bank were found liable for providing financial services to terrorist organisations and ordered to compensate victims.
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In US courts, Indian farmers are currently bringing an action against IFC, an international financial institution, for its investment in a coal mine which caused severe environmental damage to their lands.
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Mexico’s General Law of Administrative Responsibility establishes a legal framework that public servants must follow. This applies to all public officials. It contains administrative penalties for those public officials that are involved in corrupt activities such as money laundering, embezzlement and others. Administrative cases can be brought against public officials suspected of committing such offences. The expected […]
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Mr. Aguilar-Rodrigez was a national of El Salvador who lived in the USA after fleeing El Salvador. In 2011 he was stopped by police for speeding, but never received a speeding ticket. The police alleged that he was intoxicated and served a 13-day jail term. Instead of being released, he was transferred to Immigration and […]
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“Detentions before a judicial authority in excess of 72 hours, counted from the moment the accused is presented to the authority, are prohibited without presenting formal charges indicating the crime, place, time and circumstances of such crime; as well as the evidence of the crime and of the probable liability of the accused.”
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In some countries, such as the USA, police are protected from civil claims through a doctrine called “qualified immunity”. This doctrine protects police unless they have acted incompetently and knowingly acted unlawfully. This can make it very difficult to bring successful civil claims. This VOX article outlines how the concept works in the USA and […]
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The Supreme Court on Thursday sided with environmentalists by giving a broad reading to the types of water-borne pollution covered by the Clean Water Act. In a 6-3 decision, the justices held that a permit is required for either a direct discharge of pollutants into federally regulated rivers and oceans or its “functional equivalent.” “Suppose, for […]
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The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has suspended its enforcement of environmental laws during the ongoing coronavirus outbreak, signaling to companies they will not face any sanction for polluting the air or water of Americans. Polluters will be able to ignore environmental laws as long as they can claim in some way these violations were caused by […]
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Villagers from Myanmar who suffered serious human rights abuses by members of the army (including forced labour and forced relocation) in connection with a natural gas pipeline project, brought a class action against Unocal Corporation (a US oil company) and related companies in the US courts. The plaintiffs alleged that the defendant companies paid money […]
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