Whispers of Transnational Corporate Responsibility: Chevron
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
9-9-2015
Keywords
Chevron Corp. v. Yaiguaje, Supreme Court of Canada, Indigenous Ecuadorians, Reparations
Abstract
On the morning of the 4th of September, the Supreme Court of Canada released their judgment in Chevron Corp. v. Yaiguaje, and maybe the sun broke on something. Or maybe nothing happened at all.
Much has been written on the case and much more will be written still. In short, for over 20 years, 30,000 indigenous Ecuadorians have sought accountability and reparations for the destruction of their lives, lands and future by global oil interests. In 2013, a court in Ecuador awarded them $9 billion, but it has never been paid. Couched, hedged and circumscribed, the decision says only that Ontario is an acceptable place to collect on the debt of a global corporation that operates there. Much remains to be decided.
Still: at least nominally, the judgement gestures towards a jurisprudence that is part of a global value structure which does not allow capital to have its cake and eat it.
Recommended Citation
Liam McHugh-Russell, "Whispers of Transnational Corporate Responsibility: Chevron" (9 September 2015), online (blog): Critical Legal Thinking < https://criticallegalthinking.com/2015/09/09/whispers-of-transnational-corporate-responsibility-chevron/ > [https://perma.cc/32GS-DX8X].
