Human Rights Litigation against Multinational Companies in Germany

Abstract

Miriam Saag-Maaβ‎ reviews the potential for human rights and environmental cases against multinationals in Germany. Outlining the rules on jurisdiction as per EU and national law. The chapter discusses the application of the Rome II Regulation to choice of law and the potential relevance of overriding mandatory provisions of German law and the possibility of claims for impairment or interference with property including the injunctive relief to prevent flooding caused by greenhouse emissions in Lliaya v. RWE. It also outlines the elements for liability for corporate human rights abuse under section 823(I) BGB and for the omission to comply with safety duties, in particular the potential for claims against a parent or buying company for breach of a safety duty by subsidiaries and suppliers. It considers key issues arising in Jabbir v. KiK, including the application of the Pakistani law and outlines key barriers to justice relating to discovery, collective actions, recovery of legal costs and funding.