Milieudefensie v. Shell: Anchoring Corporate Human Rights Obligation in Indian Jurisprudence
By guest contributors Swetha Somu and Sanigdh Budhia, students at Gujarat National Law University.
INTRODUCTION
The recent case of Milieudefensie et al. v Royal Dutch Shell has shifted the focus back to the dilemma of whether private corporations are outrightly liable for infringing human rights, as defined under the international laws and treaties, or whether only the state is liable for the actions of private corporations under its jurisdiction. The Hague District Court, in this case, ordered a private company, Royal Dutch Shell (RDS), to decrease its net emissions by 45%, in relation to the 2019 levels, by 2030 in line with the Paris Agreement.
Generally, states are held accountable for any violation of private corporations as corporations aren’t recognized as legal subjects. However, there’s a recent shift in the view that corporations are also subjects of international law since they are also contributors to it, even though there is no “hard” law in the form of treaties or conventions that legally bind...