It remains unclear whether Vedanta Resources will resolve its dispute with the Zambian government through arbitration in South Africa. Until then, the claimants are limited in terms of what they can do to hold KCM accountable … More Whose jurisdiction is it anyway?
In a fitting show of unity worth highlighting on Africa Day, all but one African countries voted with Mauritius at the UN against UK colonisation of the Chagos Islands … More Africa Day: African countries united over decolonisation of the Chagos Islands
The Zambian government has formally filed an application to place KCM, Vedanta’s Zambian subsidiary in liquidation. This latest development in the Vedanta v Lungowe saga may potentially complicate matters as the claimants seek to obtain justice. … More KCM in liquidation: will the claimants in Vedanta v Lungowe have to seek permission of Zambian courts to proceed against KCM?
The Zambian President recently announced that the government was considering nationalising KCM and ‘divorcing’ from Vedanta. This could present practical difficulties in the pursuit of access to justice for the claimants in Vedanta v Lungowe … More Access to justice meets the politics of nationalisation
This blog post is reproduced from a contribution made to the Business and Human Rights Journal Blog Symposium on Business, Human Rights and Extraterritoriality. http://blog.journals.cambridge.org/2019/05/02/vedanta-v-lungowe-an-irreconcilable-regulatory-overreach/ … More Vedanta v Lungowe: an irreconcilable regulatory overreach?
Today’s judgment is significant insofar as it opens up the possibility of the Zambian claimants accessing justice. However, the claimants still face formidable obstacles in respect of proving breach of duty. Others like them in Zambia will continue to face obstacles to access to justice until the Zambian legal system itself is robust enough to handle such cases.
The ICJ’s flexible approach to the Chagos Archipelago claim took into account the right to self-determination while English courts appear constrained by limitation periods under the Limitation Act 1980. … More Colonial reckoning: ICJ and English courts’ approach to colonial claims
