The power of law and the power of people in defense of human rights and the environment
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Legal Programs

EarthRights International's litigation seeks to provide remedies for earth rights abuses around the world. Working in partnership with other legal organizations and private lawyers, we are litigating several cases on behalf of victims of earth rights abuses, and we have filed amicus curiae ("friend of the court") briefs in several other cases. We seek to apply domestic and international law to hold corporations and others accountable for their actions, often using the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA), which allows lawsuits in federal courts for violations of international law.

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UNOCAL

CHEVRON
ROYAL DUTCH SHELL UNION CARBIDE
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Chevron Found Not Liable for Killings, Shootings, and Torture of Nigerian Peaceful Protesters

Victims of Egregious Human Rights Abuses Sought Redress in US Courts & Will Appeal in Bowoto v. Chevron

San Francisco, CA, February 2, 2009 – In December 2008, almost ten years after the events, and after four weeks of trial, a jury in federal court in San Francisco found Chevron not liable for the shootings, killings and torture of unarmed, peaceful protesters on a Chevron oil platform off the Niger Delta in 1998.  Plaintiffs have filed a motion requesting a new trial based on a number of legal and evidentiary issues that emerged in the proceedings.  Judge Illston will hear oral arguments on the matter on March 6, 2009.

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Site of protests, Chevron drilling platform