A.F. Akpan v. Royal Dutch Shell, plc

Access to Justice
Environmental justice
Oil & Gas

A.F. Akpan v. Royal Dutch Shell, plc
E. Dooh v. Royal Dutch Shell, plc
F.A. Oguru v. Royal Dutch Shell plc

Court of Appeal of the Hague (December 18, 2015)

Nigerian farmers and Friends of the Earth filed cases against Royal Dutch Shell (Shell) and its Nigerian subsidiaries in a Dutch court seeking compensation for damage claimed to have been caused by leaking oil pipelines and an oil well in Nigeria.  Overturning a lower court decision, the Court of Appeal of the Hague ruled that Dutch courts have jurisdiction to consider the claims.  It also directed Shell to provide the plaintiffs with access to documents pertaining to the oil spills. 

The opinions, in Dutch, may be accessed at the following links:

http://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/inziendocument?id=ECLI:NL:GHDHA:2015:3586 (Dooh)
http://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/inziendocument?id=ECLI:NL:GHDHA:2015:3587  (Akpan)
http://uitspraken.rechtspraak.nl/inziendocument?id=ECLI:NL:GHDHA:2015:3588 (Oguru)