Resource Extraction in the Courtroom: The Significance of Choc v. Hudbay Minerals Inc for the Future of Transnational Justice in Canada

(2014) 14 Asper Review of International Business and Trade Law 121-160

21 Pages Posted: 26 May 2015

See all articles by Chilenye Nwapi

Chilenye Nwapi

University of British Columbia Faculty of Law; University of Calgary

Date Written: 2014

Abstract

Canada has not seen much transnational litigation along the lines of the United States Alien Tort Statute. Until the decision of the Superior Court of Ontario in Choc v Hudbay Mineral Inc., no such case had survived pretrial challenges. This article explores the significance of the Hudbay decision for the future of transnational justice in Canada. The paper argues that Hudbay is significant for its attempt to recognize a novel duty of care between Canadian corporations and local communities harmed by the activities of Canadian corporations’ subsidiaries abroad. It is also significant for the plaintiffs’ successful use of the direct liability theory. Lastly, the decision underscored the need for plaintiff lawyers to place sufficient particulars of all allegations on the pleadings, a lesson that must have been learned from the failure of the previous cases.

Keywords: Transnationl litgation, transnational corporations, duty of care, corporate complicity in human rights abuses

Suggested Citation

Nwapi, Chilenye and Nwapi, Chilenye, Resource Extraction in the Courtroom: The Significance of Choc v. Hudbay Minerals Inc for the Future of Transnational Justice in Canada (2014). (2014) 14 Asper Review of International Business and Trade Law 121-160, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2610309

Chilenye Nwapi (Contact Author)

University of Calgary ( email )

University Drive
Calgary, Alberta T2N 1N4
Canada

University of British Columbia Faculty of Law ( email )

1822 East Mall
Vancouver, British Columbia V6T 1Z1
Canada

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