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Flores v. Southern Peru Copper Corporation

Country/Territory
United States of America
Type of court
National - higher court
Date
Aug 29, 2003
Source
UNEP, InforMEA
Court name
United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit
Seat of court
New York City
Judge
Kearse; Jacobs; Cabranes
Reference number
343 F.3d 140 (2d Cir. 2003)
Language
English
Subject
Environment gen.
Abstract

Southern Peru Copper Corporation (SPCC) was majority-owned by a Delaware corporation with its principal place of business in Peru. It operated copper mining, refining and smelting operations in the area of Ilo, Peru. Residents of Ilo brought personal injury claims under the Alien Tort Claims Act against the corporation.

The Peruvian government conducted regular assessments which found that SPCC’s activities were causing environmental harm affecting agriculture in Ilo. Next to being ordered to pay fines, SPCC was ordered to change its operations so as to comply with Peruvian environmental laws.

The plaintiffs alleged that the corporation’s activities caused lung diseases of Ilo residents due to the large amounts of sulphur dioxide and fine particles of heavy metals emitted into the air and water. They claimed that this pollution was a violation of customary international law seeing as it breached the right to life, the right to health and the right to sustainable development. The lower Court rejected the plaintiffs’ claim on the grounds that they did not find a customary international law violation under the Alien Tort Claims Act. The plaintiffs appealed and the Court of Appeals followed the lower Court’s decision by saying that the plaintiffs had failed to establish the claim of a customary international law violation. The right to health and life were held not to be sufficiently definite and unambiguous in order to be a rule of customary international law as required by the Alien Tort Claims Act.

Full text
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Website
www.globalhealthrights.org