Corporate Social Responsibility in UK Law

The current approach of parties in litigation such as this is wholly self-defeating, and contrary to cost-efficient conduct of litigation. The costs burden upon the parties must be enormous, and this approach is, in my judgment, diametrically opposed to that required under the overriding objective in CPR Part 1. However, a fundamental change of approach is required by the parties in cases such as these for applications of this nature.

Oil is a lucrative business. However, the evidence on the part of the claimants that is relied upon to found a claim against RDS (rather than SPDC) is extremely thin, bordering on sketchy, and in a great many instances simply not evidence at all. I take it at its highest for the claimants due to the early stage of the proceedings. However, upon analysis it can be seen that it is very strong on assertion and considerably weak on actual evidence.

The evidence from those at SPDC is to the effect that it is that company, rather than RDS, that takes all operational decisions in Nigeria, and that there is nothing performed by RDS by way of supervisory direction, specialist activities or knowledge, that would put RDS in any different position than would be expected of an ultimate parent company.

(a) the statements of the party making it that he has erroneously represented or has misconceived the character of the documents in respect of which privilege is claimed: Frankenstein v Gavin's House to House Cycle Cleaning and Insurance Co, per Lord Esher MR and Chitty LJ; Lask v Gloucester Health Authority.

That, I believe, is the case because it would be surprising if a parent company were to go to the trouble of establishing a network of overseas subsidiaries with their own management structures if it intended itself to assume responsibility for the operations of each of those subsidiaries. The corporate structure itself tends to militate against the requisite proximity.

The second way is where a claimant is identified or referred to by particular facts known to individuals. This has been called in the textbooks “reference innuendo” (and which the judge called “extrinsic reference”). It is common ground that those particular facts need to be pleaded in the Particulars of Claim and the issue of identification or reference decided on the facts found to be proved.

Furthermore, I am not satisfied that those in positions of power in the defendant's organisation were pursuing a policy intending that the SLP should deploy excessive force against the local population. The person in overall charge of the Tonkolili project was Gibril Bangura, now deceased. He was generally well-liked and was instrumental in pursuing the strategy of appeasement in the aftermath of the 2012 incident. Frank Timis was the Executive Chairman of the defendant.