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
Friday, 19 April 2013
Thursday, 18 April 2013
Banyan statement following the Kiobel decision
London, 18th 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.
Tuesday, 9 April 2013
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
Student solicitors step into the breach
Wednesday, 3 April 2013
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
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.
Tuesday, 26 March 2013
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!
Monday, 11 February 2013
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.
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.
Friday, 4 January 2013
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 23rd 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
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