Ryerson CSR Institute Session: (Part One) Transnational Tort Litigation, CSR & Extractives - in conversation with Law Professor Malcolm Rogge

Multinational extractive sector firms have been the subject of a number of different private tort lawsuits, typically brought by members of affected communities, with the legal actions taking place in the courts of the countries where those firms are headquartered (rather than in the countries where the alleged harm has occurred). What is the "state of play" with respect to these lawsuits? What do they reveal about the capability of extractive sector firms to address their environmental and social impacts, and what do they reveal about the availability of legal remedies for people harmed? What are the positive and negative implications flowing from this growing body of litigation?

Dr. Malcolm Rogge (external link)  is ideally positioned to provide insights on this subject. For over twenty years, as a legal scholar and documentary filmmaker, Dr. Rogge has shed a light on the human rights impacts of company-community conflicts in the extractive sector in Canada and in Latin America. His international award-winning documentary film about a mining conflict in Ecuador called Under Rich Earth (external link)  was cited by The Northern Miner: Global Mining News (external link, opens in new window)  as "a classic example for companies on how not to handle community relations." In 2016, Under Rich Earth was used as evidence and cited extensively in an influential investment law decision (external link)  of the Permanent Court of Arbitration at the Hague.

Moderating the session will be Dr. Kernaghan Webb, Director of the Ryerson CSR Institute and a Law and Business professor in Ryerson University's Ted Rogers School of Management who is also cross appointed to the Law Faculty.

The talk is co-sponsored by the Ryerson Corporate Social Responsibility Student Association, the Ryerson Commerce and Government Association, and the Ryerson Law and Business Student Association. Support for the "In conversation" sessions from the Trade Commissioner Service of Global Affairs Canada is also gratefully acknowledged.