New website

We have moved to a smarter new website. 

Therefore, this blog won't be updated anymore, and will eventually be taken down. 

The new website can be reached through the same old address, www.banyan-advocates.co.uk

Banyan statement following the Kiobel decision

London, 18^th April 2013

Banyan is disappointed by the Kiobel decision but still sees glimmer of hope for victims of corporate abuse

Banyan is disappointed that the US Supreme Court chose to reject the plaintiffs' appeal in Kiobel. The decision is troubling, making it more difficult for victims of human rights abuses - including war crimes and torture - to seek redress. Yet the decision has raised as many questions as it has left unanswered, and is in no way a grant of immunity to corporations who aid or abet such abuses.

Here is what we know:

1) The court rejected the plaintiffs' appeal unanimously

2) All nine justices did not rule out corporations being the subject of Alien Torts Statute ("ATS") lawsuits

3) The main opinion argued that we should presume that the ATS does not apply outside the US. However, this presumption can be overcome when "the claims touch and concern the territory of the United States... with sufficient force"

4) This opinion also argued that this principle should be extended to corporations. Mere corporate presence in the US does not suffice, and something more is required.

5) Four of the justices separately argued that showing some connection between the case and the US should be the threshold, requiring no presumption against application outside the US

Simply put, corporations can still be sued, and can still be held liable for aiding and abetting human rights abuses.

The threshold that plaintiffs now have to meet requires some significant connection to the US. 

There is still a great deal that we don't know, including:

1) Whether the relevant connection is between the US and the act of abuse; or whether it is between the US and the act, victim or perpetrator of abuse. The main opinion implies that the connection could be between the US and the act, victim or perpetrator

2) What the threshold is to show a sufficient connection in each case

Justice Kennedy's separate opinion seems to envisage these questions being clarified through further lawsuits - another indication that companies cannot take this decision as a grant of immunity.

At Banyan, we are proud of the work that our team did to support the amicus curiae and the plaintiffs in arguing that corporations can be sued and that the ATS should apply extraterritorially. Our research came up in oral argument and was dealt with in the judgment itself. We look forward to mobilising more SOAS postgraduates to provide research on corporate accountability, be it supporting further such litigation; or engaging with legislative and policy processes at the national and global levels.

Banyan in the Guardian!

Banyan got some excellent coverage in the Guardian this week. With thanks to Anna Fazackerley for getting in touch with us and wanting to know more about the organisation.

Student solicitors step into the breach

Introducing our new committee members: Hayley and Matthew

A little late in the day, but we would like to introduce our new committee members Hayley Ichilcik and Matthew Burnett-Stuart.

Matthew Burnett-Stuart is a part-time MA Law student in his first year at SOAS  

Hayley Ichilcik is a qualified solicitor and part-time LLM student at SOAS

With this expanded team, Banyan hopes to build on its successes of 2012 , find further exciting projects and offer even more opportunities to students at SOAS seeking experience on real-life projects with a human rights/social justice orientation. Their input will also allow for a presence at SOAS to co-ordinate activities and organise events.

SOAS law students establish international human rights advocacy network

With thanks to Becky Waller-Davies at Lawyer 2B for writing such a positive article about our work! 

SOAS law students establish international human rights advocacy network

PROJECT: Minority Rights Group

This project is no longer accepting applicants, but if you are very interested please get in touch and we can see if there are any further opportunities.

In brief: Minority Rights Group is looking for a team of Banyan students to conduct a research project on equitable, participatory and transparent models of benefits and royalties sharing with communities (ideally indigenous communities). This project is linked to the implementation of a case before the African Commission on Human and Peoples Rights (CEMIRIDE and MRG (onbehalf of EWC) v Kenya) where the Commission recommended, inter alia, that Kenya “pay royalties to the Endorois [semi-nomadic indigenous people of approx. 60000 people] from existing economic activities”.

The research project will aim at providing concrete material on and examples of levels of royalty and benefit sharing with local communities (i.e. examples of revenue sharing from natural resource extraction/ tourism by communities in comparable situations). Examples from Africa would be ideal but examples from other regions could also be of benefit.

This data will ideally be presented in a clear memorandum format and the evidence obtained will be used both to inform and subsequently back up the Endorois’ position in negotiations with the Kenyan government. 

We are looking for a team of at least 2 to 3 students to work on this project.

Commitments: Minority Rights Group are looking to get a good draft of this research project completed by early April. Time commitments for individual students will depend on the size of the team working on the project.


Deadline: As soon as possible. Please email us at soas@banyan-advocates.co.uk detailing your availability and interest in the project. Please also attach a CV.

Banyan Summary 2012

2012 has been an exciting year for Banyan, and as we begin our first full year, we would like to give you a quick summary of our activities so far:

April 2012 saw the official creation of Banyan: SOAS Advocates, with an extremely successful opening event on 23^rd April. “Putting your degree into action” saw a number of speakers from legal, NGO and academic backgrounds discuss the many ways students could demonstrate their abilities and experience, encouraging them to make the most of opportunities to apply their skills in practice on different research projects in a range of environments.

Since then, Banyan has offered a series of exciting opportunities to postgraduate students at SOAS.

In August 2012, the Revenue Watch Institute (RWI) asked Banyan to build a team of several students to work with RWI in supporting the implementation of the government of Guinea’s new mining code. The students have helped the government in ongoing negotiations and drafted research reports on different mining companies.

In the same month three Banyan students joined the MSI Project, an NGO monitoring the human rights impacts of multi-stakeholder initiatives. They wrote reports analysing some of these initiatives and helped generate recommendations to improve their adherence to human rights standards.

In November 2012, the Aegis Trust came to Banyan via Dr Chandra Sriram from the SOAS School of Law. Four postgraduate students are researching and drafting a report regarding Sudan and the ICC, which should be available by mid-February 2013.

Banyan is in the process of creating a team to work on a case with human rights solicitors Deighton Pierce Glynn. Deighton are particularly interested in Banyan’s multi-lingual membership as the case relates to immunity for torture prosecution and a leading official in an Arabic speaking country.

Finally, Dr Lutz Oette at SOAS has asked Banyan to recruit a single student to collaborate with the African Centre for Justice and Peace on a major report focused on Sudan.

As you can tell, this year has been an exciting one for Banyan and its members, something we’re hoping to continue this in 2013. If you'd like to get involved in running Banyan and working alongside out partner organisations, please contact us at  soas@banyan-advocates.co.uk.

We hope everyone has an excellent 2013!

Luke, Jess and Deval