On Tuesday, the Public Bill Committee for the Legal Aid, Sentencing and Punishment of Offenders Bill will discuss the government’s planned reforms of civil law.
In response to lobbying by insurers and those that have fallen foul of the law, the government plans to make it practically impossible for lawyers to take on business and human rights cases like the famous Trafigura case, where 100,000 Cote d’Ivorians were poisoned by toxic waste dumped by that company.
Martyn Day, partner at Leigh Day & Co, one of Britain’s foremost experts in international business and human rights, has warned the government’s policy is a disaster. So have Amnesty, Oxfam, Friends of the Earth, CAFOD, Traidcraft and Corporate Responsibility, among others. Indeed, so worrying are the changes that the United Nations secretary-general authorised his special representative for business and human rights, Professor John Ruggie, to write to Ken Clarke to praise the existing system and decry the changes he plans to make.
As a member of the committee, I have tabled an amendment which seeks to protect this area of law from unnecessary and damaging meddling.
Impunity for corrupt or just plain criminal businesses – for that is precisely who this bill will exonerate – is simply bad for all business. If acting improperly isn’t punished then it will only be rational for amoral companies seeking to gain commercial advantage to engage in the worst behaviour. To torture, to dump toxic waste, to ignore an oil spill that destroys delicate marine ecosystems and leaves tens of thousands of fishermen unable to earn a living or feed their children.
It means responsible businesses – those that have strong ethics and corporate and social responsibility – are disadvantaged, and it will lead to a race to the bottom.
Tort reform – in practice protecting corporate wrongdoers at the expense of victims – is a favourite of rightwing ideologues. Such ‘reform’ in Australia and the United States has left their legal systems weaker and less able to punish wrongdoers.
Free markets require a fair and level playing field. Fair in that all can compete effectively. But fair also in their effect on the communities they serve. What’s the point of a strong private sector if its profits are earned at the expense of tens of thousands of lives?
So what can you do?
Well, in the short term, you can support Amnesty’s campaign by writing to your MP and asking them to support this amendment. They have an automated form online here. It’d also be great if you could tweet a link to the Amnesty action and tell your friends that they can help ensure British business is strong, responsible and answerable to the law.
Time is short: the debate is on Tuesday, and votes will be taken that day in the Public Bill Committee, before report stage in October. I hope you can help us persuade MPs that responsible businesses are good businesses, and that ensuring wrongdoing is punished is fundamental to a just legal system.
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Kate Green is MP for Stretford and Urmston and writes a weekly column for Progress, Kate Comments
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As someone who has first experience of the devastating effects of corporate toxic exposure I applaud Kate’s endeavours with every hope that she succeeds in protecting this area of Tort law, which is already extraordinarily difficult to address . Government opinion on this is brimming over with vested interest and Amnesty needs to have as much support as possible in this vital area of human rights.
Well Labour made it almost impossible to get legal aid and I see nobody moaned about that, I went ti Family court to get my grand kids from care, the case was taken by solicitors and I made a claim for legal aid, it was at the same time as the enron claims, they were given £35 million each even though they were millionaires, I was turned down because the case did not merit legal aid.
They said family law cases only cost £2000 to £3000 which can be paid back by Ten pounds a week, I was turned down the Enron three got the award, I’m just finishing off the debt which with interest turned out to be £4,600
I think the Legal aid battle for labour ended a long time again I’m sure the tears about the Liberals in coalition maybe because labour had plan it them selves after all they are more Tory then the liberals