Trial Date Set in Human Rights Case Against UnoCal

On June 21, 2005, a California court will hear oral arguments in Doe v. Unocal. For the first time, an American company will be put on trial for human rights abuses. Many eyes are on the trial as the economic and social implications of the court’s decision are wide spread. A finding for the Plaintiff could greatly deter international investment and trade in developing nations.

The oil giant is accused of being vicariously liable for the rape, torture, murder, and enslavement of villagers by the Burmese security forces that helped protect Unocal’s pipeline during the 1990s. The case rests on the Alien Tort Claims Act, a 1789 law that lay dormant in the books for the first 200 years of America’s history. The law provides that US district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action by an alien for a tort committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the US. During the 1980s, the law has been increasingly implemented to bring tort suits against foreigners—most famously in the Ferdinand Marcos trial.

The Unocal case is commanding widespread attention from human rights advocates as well as hundreds of corporations fearful that they may be held liable for wrongs committed by governments where they do business. The Plaintiffs accuse Unocal for using forced labor on the pipeline and being responsible for the Burmese destruction of villages done to pave the way for the pipeline. Unocal denies http://www.unocal.com/myanmar/ the allegations and says its investment in the isolated Asian nation is opening the country to the outside world. Other groups have attempted to raise similar cases during the past few years. A group of Nigerians is trying to sue Chevron for murders by the Nigerian government. Meanwhile, a group in Indonesia is suing Exxon Mobil.