“It is unacceptable to allow an American company not only the opportunity to exploit international borders and legal jurisdictions but also the ability to evade civil and criminal liability for environmental pollution and abuses committed overseas.” – Leading Congressman Frank Pallone, Times of India, 18th Oct.
This unequivocal statement announced the Amicus brief that has been filed with the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit by Congressman Pallone and eight other US lawmakers on behalf of the Bhopal survivors’ Class Action.
That’s the rotten news for Carbide. Now the unspeakable news for Daddy Dow: the brief urges the Court of Appeals to hold Dow responsible for Bhopal and exposes Dow’s refusal to accept liability for ongoing contamination as legally indefensible: “That [polluter pays] principle, has been affirmed by both international law and American common law and the appropriate means for addressing pollution or environmental harm regardless of where it occurs. That principle cannot be ignored simply because the polluter has abandoned its facility, sold its shares in a subsidy or otherwise effected change of ownership.”
Times of India
Congressman Pallone fights for Bhopal gas victims
IANS[ Saturday, October 18, 2003 12:43:59 PM ]
WASHINGTON: Leading Congressman Frank Pallone and eight other US
lawmakers, have filed an amicus brief on behalf of about 20,000 victims of the 1984 Union Carbide chemical disaster in Bhopal.
Pallone, co-founder of the Congressional Caucus on India and Indian
Americans, and his colleagues have sent the 23-page brief to the US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. It urges the court to hold Dow Chemical, which acquired Union Carbide in 2001, responsible for the world’s biggest environmental disaster.
The brief, initiated by Pallone, comes in response to a March decision by a US District Judge in New York dismissing all claims against Dow Chemical. Victims then appealed to the Second Circuit, said a press release from Pallone’s office.
“There is strong support in Congress for holding those responsible for this horrific tragedy accountable for their actions,” he said. “It is unacceptable to allow an American company not only the opportunity to exploit international borders and legal jurisdictions but also the ability to evade civil and criminal liability for environmental pollution and abuses committed overseas.”
For the whole article click here.
Share this:
