...The High Court ruled today that Royal Dutch Shell cannot be held responsible for the actions of its Nigerian subsidiary Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Ltd..."This ruling could mean that the communities will never receive meaningful compensation, and that the oil spills will be not be properly cleaned up,” said Joe Westby, Campaigner on Business and Human Rights at Amnesty International...Two Nigerian communities brought separate legal actions against Royal Dutch Shell and its Nigerian subsidiary in 2016.  The first claim was brought on behalf of...a fishing community whose environment has been devastated by oil spills over the past five years.  The second claim was on behalf of the Ogale Community...Shell disputed the jurisdiction of the UK court, arguing that the case concerned Nigerian plaintiffs and a Nigerian company.  The judge...struck out the claims against Royal Dutch Shell and its Nigerian subsidiary, but gave the communities permission to file an appeal...For rural communities taking a claim to the Nigeria courts is extremely difficult because only federal courts can deal with oil cases and few lawyers are willing to take on the major oil companies...