Suntu:

I'll do the best I can as time allows. Many are watching to see what happens
with this. Thx!


On 5/13/08, SUNTOU TOURAY <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
>
> Bambalaye, i will be very interested if you could be forwarding the
> proceedings of the case. it will be a test case and i hope justice prevail.
> thanks
>
> Abdoulie Jallow <[log in to unmask]> wrote: Top court lets apartheid
> claims proceed Mon May 12, 2008 11:58am EDT
>
> By James Vicini
>
> WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday cleared the way
> for
> lawsuits to go forward by apartheid victims seeking damages exceeding $400
> billion from more than 50 major corporations.
>
> With four justices recused from the case and therefore lacking a quorum,
> the
> high court issued a brief order simply affirming a ruling by a U.S.
> appeals
> court in New York. The appeals court had reinstated the lawsuits by the
> plaintiffs, who claim the companies violated international law by
> assisting
> the apartheid system in South Africa.
>
> Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Anthony Kennedy, Stephen Breyer
> and
> Samuel Alito did not take part in the case, apparently because they own
> stock in some of the companies.
>
> Because they did not participate, the Supreme Court said it lacked a
> quorum,
> which requires at least six of its nine members. The affirming of the
> lower-court ruling allows the lawsuits to proceed, but does not represent
> a
> decision by the justices on the merits of the dispute.
>
> A majority of the justices who considered the case said it could not be
> heard and determined in the court's next term because of the lack of a
> quorum, which happens rarely.
>
> The corporations named in the lawsuits included oil companies such as BP
> Plc
> and Exxon Mobil Corp, banks such as Citigroup, Deutsche Bank AG and UBS
> AG,
> as well as other multinationals like IBM, General Motors Corp and Ford
> Motor
> Co.
>
> The U.S. and foreign corporations appealed to the Supreme Court. The Bush
> administration and business groups supported the appeal.
>
> The lawsuits, filed in 2002 by three separate groups of plaintiffs, were
> brought on behalf of all persons living in South Africa between 1948 and
> 1994 who were apartheid victims.
>
> One set of plaintiffs, a South African human rights organization called
> the
> Khulumani Support Group, represents some 36,000 claimants who suffered
> during apartheid.
>
> "We are delighted. It's a victory and we are very, very happy," said
> Shirley
> Gunn, a Khulumani board member who says she was tortured during apartheid.
>
> 'MERIT IN THE CLAIMS'
>
> "This is obviously extremely good news. It certainly shows that there is
> absolute merit in the claims that were filed against the corporations and
> we
> now look forward to this matter unfolding further in the New York District
> Court," Charles Abrahams, a South African lawyer acting on behalf of the
> group, told Reuters.
>
> Apartheid ended in 1994 when South Africa held its first all-race
> elections,
> bringing Nelson Mandela and the African National Congress to power.
>
> A federal judge in New York initially dismissed the lawsuits on the
> grounds
> that the court lacked jurisdiction over the cases. But the appeals court
> ruled the lawsuits brought under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) could go
> forward.
>
> The Bush administration took the position the lawsuits should be
> dismissed.
> It said the South African government repeatedly has opposed the lawsuits
> as
> an infringement of its sovereignty.
>
> The administration had urged the Supreme Court to rule that a private
> defendant may not be sued under the ATCA for aiding and abetting a
> violation
> of international law by a foreign government in its own territory.
>
> But attorneys for the plaintiffs said the case was not ready for Supreme
> Court review and that it should be allowed to go back to the federal
> judge.
>
> The high court's action means the case will go back to the federal judge
> for
> more proceedings. Any eventual ruling by the judge then could be appealed
> by
> the losing side to the appeals court and ultimately to the Supreme Court.
>
> (Editing by Lisa Von Ahn and Tim Dobbyn)
>
> ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤
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