"An elusive justice—holding parent companies accountable for human rights abuse", 14 Feb 2017

...Recently, the UK High Court threw out a case brought against oil giant Shell by two impoverished communities in the Niger Delta...[T]he ruling goes to the heart of a situation in which multinational corporations enjoy an impunity that is sharply at odds with their enormous profits and power.  It further demonstrates the need for legal reforms that actually improve access of victims of corporate abuse to courts in jurisdictions where large corporations are based...The disappointing decision is based on a strict interpretation of corporate law whereby a parent company is considered to be legally separate from its subsidiary.  But this is an artificial distinction when it comes to responsibility for human rights abuses, including across borders...Shell’s efforts to distance itself from its Nigerian subsidiary follows an established strategy by corporate actors defending allegations of abuse brought in their home state courts...How can the headquarters of a multinational company knowingly profit from ongoing abuses in their global operations, while at the same time denying it has any responsibility?...[I]f the parent company did not have oversight of the actions of its subsidiary—why not?...[Also refers to Union Carbide Corporation, Tahoe Resources]