For those who have studied law, we know that “Justice” is symbolized by a woman, blindfolded, holding an old-fashioned scale and a sword. Many law courts and libraries feature images of this dignified figure in paintings and statues. She is blindfolded, so that nothing other than pure reason will guide her. The scales she wields symbolize balance. She also holds a double-edged sword, symbolizing Reason and Fairness. As an evolving society we need our judges to do the right thing. We need the Rule of Law to be pure. We need human rights to be elevated and measured up against corporations exhibiting greed, arrogance, and disrespect.A central issue facing the courts these days is whether corporations are required to show respect for anything other than profit. To state the obvious, human rights are useless without enforcement. The people have two potentially effective tools at our disposal: government, and the courts. Since government has proven to be an abject failure at enforcing responsibility where oil companies are concerned, while allowing them to rack up massive profits to the tune of billions, the only weapon that we have left is Lady Justice and the courts. And a profound weapon it is indeed.
We will soon have the privilege of witnessing Lady Justice dealing with British Petroleum (BP). BP has arguably failed to show any respect for either the public or the environment in its actions throughout the years. Some believe that BP is the very embodiment of accelerating corporate arrogance which is threatening our world and its people. Lady Justice stands between companies like BP and the public. Her servants, our judges, are to balance out the relative rights and responsibilities of all involved. As we will see below, the question of “who is involved here?” has just taken a dramatic turn in Ecuador.
A time of reckoning, of re-balancing, may finally be here. BP is currently embroiled in several legal actions. The judicial decisions which will emanate from these actions are going to set precedent for the future enforcement of corporate responsibility. It would seem that we are at a crossroads in our society. The pursuit of “profit at all costs” is on trial, finally. Big business hawks are lined up against ordinary folks — but our media is silent about it all, failing to inform us. So we will have to inform ourselves. We can’t underestimate the importance of judges in these times. How they handle these actions against BP is going to reframe our collective future. We need to keep track of this.
In June 2010 an investigation was launched into a 40-day toxic emissions leak, which occurred because BP insisted on carrying on business while making repairs. “Last year, the Texas attorney general filed a civil suit against BP for ‘poor operating and maintenance practices’ that resulted in 53 separate incidents of excessive emissions.” The Texas City refinery is most infamous for a 2005 explosion that killed 15 people but … ‘four more workers have died in various accidents since then, and two chemical releases in 2007 sent more than 130 people to the hospital. Continued violations at the refinery—including failure to repair some of the very problems that led to the 2005 blast—prompted the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to fine BP a record $87 million last year (2009).”
Of course, the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion and oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico has been the most damaging BP incident yet. Calls for criminal charges and civil actions have been mounting. Apparently people are not satisfied with the restitution (i.e. reimbursement of damages) paid by BP thus far. There are some very serious allegations of fraud and criminal misconduct filed in court, relating to BP’s attempts to get out of having to compensate spill victims. The allegations (so far unproven) are astonishing. “According to the complaint, BP has been involved in corruption, wire fraud, mail fraud, unauthorized practice of law, violation of state insurances laws and regulations and other criminal activity in order to delay or reduce the payment of legitimate claims for damages.” While breaches of environmental regulation are commonplace (sadly enough), the fact that there is apparently evidence this time of fraud and racketeering is certainly fascinating and unusual.
Although I am quite sure that the mainstream media won’t touch this story with a ten-foot pole, luckily I have this great source (“Jurist Paper Chase”) which is a real-time internet news service put out by University of Pittsburgh School of Law, keeping track of international legal news. I’m going to use this resource to track these cases against BP since our media chooses not to inform us. I will let you know what happens.
The most fascinating aspect of the entire Gulf oil spill, for me, involves suspect timing. You`ll recall that the explosion happened in April and continued into July. On July 7th, BP announced that it had a plan to contain the spill by the end of the month, weeks ahead of “schedule“. On July 8th the BBC ran a story wherein Russia says that it had offered the use of robotic min-subs with hand-like claws and tools. To paraphrase Russia: “hey why hasn’t anybody asked us for help? These robots would fix your problem immediately, they will work well in the deep sea but they’re just sitting here …. We can help you. Just ask. We’re here for you.”
This article was very striking, strongly suggesting that the US and BP were not pulling out all the stops in plugging this well. At least one good solution was available but BP was ignoring it.
Then suddenly, on July 10th, BP abruptly announced that it had finally found a solution which would be deployed within days. The Russian offer of help was completely ignored. The July 27th hole-closure date was moved up, with no explanation. This all seemed to come out of nowhere on the 10th. Immediately after this announcement, the cap (or lid or hat or toque or whatever) was finally fitted over this little 7 inch hole for good, and testing began. How is it that they finally plugged up this hole only AFTER the Russians claimed publicly that it could have been easily fixed all along with their help? Talk about a crazy coincidence! Sheesh. The only other explanation is that BP was able to plug this hole but for some reason they chose not to do it, until publicly embarrassed by the Russians. If, true this would mean …. oh come on! No way. I am SO sure that this must be a coincidence. Period! End of discussion. This is a serious legal blog here, not some bizarre conspiracy website. Give me a break.
Meanwhile, the anger towards BP is growing in unprecedented proportions. This week, something brand new happened. A new constitutional law in Ecuador has enabled BP to be sued …. on behalf of nature Herself. Yes, you heard it right – litigants are representing the rights of Mother Nature. Will Lady Justice recognize Her? I guess we shall see.
This groundbreaking lawsuit raises jurisdictional issues on a grand, international scale. “This morning we filed in the constitutional court of Ecuador this lawsuit defending the rights of nature, in particular the right of the Gulf of Mexico and the sea which has been violated by the BP oil spill. We see this as a test case of the rights of nature enshrined in the constitution of Ecuador—it’s about universal jurisdiction beyond the boundaries of Ecuador, because nature has rights everywhere.”
Believe it or not though, this unprecedented legal action against BP was not picked up by the mainstream media. Searching the internet for a persuasive, reliable source for this groundbreaking Ecuadorian lawsuit yielded nothing except for Democracy Now, quoted above. I can certainly vouch for the professionalism and integrity of the staff there and I consider DN to be a reliable source, having followed them for years now. They often break important stories that the mainstream media won`t run – like this one. Thank goodness for Democracy Now.
BP is getting it from all sides this year where the law is concerned: criminal, civil, and international. In related news, I have finally found a good use for Twitter: (http://twitter.com/drvandanashiva). This is the page of activist Dr. Vandan Shiva, one of the people who filed the lawsuit in Ecuador this week. I went in and saw this gem: “There won’t be a bailout for the earth.” I love that. Following the tweets of the litigant himself is obviously the best source of information for any important news pertaining to this lawsuit – quite useful, actually. I just wish there was a name for the updates other than “tweet“ – it sounds so undignified. Oh well. In any case, I am going to keep you informed as to the progress of this most interesting case, even if I have to pinch my nose and finally use Twitter. After all, it`s for a good cause: Justice.
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