- Thread starter
- Staff
- #1
Dadparvar
Staff member
- Nov 11, 2016
- 10,614
- 0
- 6
The Nigerian Enugu High Court ruled Thursday that the former British colonial administration was liable for a 1949 mining incident that caused 21 deaths.
Justice Anthony Onovo awarded each victim’s family £20 million in compensation, which he stated would be an “effective remedy and compensation for the violations of the right to life.” In his ruling he stated, “[t]hese defenseless coal miners were asking for improved working conditions; they were not embarking on any violent action against the authorities, yet they were shot and killed.”
His ruling also stipulated that post-judgement interest will accumulate at 10 percent annually until compensation is fully paid by the UK government. Additionally, he required the UK government to issue a formal “unreserved written apology”. Justice Onovo ordered that these written apologies be sent to the victims’ families and published in national newspapers in both Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
In 1949, at the Iva Valley Coal Mine, miners were protesting harsh working conditions and racial disparity and used methods such as working slower as a form of direct action. However, as a result of this, 21 coal miners were killed and 51 others were injured.
The British Government has yet to respond. However, this situation draws strong parallels with a similar decision in 1965. In the Burmah Oil case during WWII, British forces destroyed Burmah Oil’s installations. Burmah Oil sued the UK government for compensation, and the House of Lords ruled in Burmah Oil’s favour.
The UK parliament introduced the War Damages Act 1965, which retroactively overturned the House of Lords’ decision and declared that no compensation was payable for war-related destruction.
Whilst there are stark differences between the two cases, it is possible that the British government will not pay reparations for the deaths of the 21 coal miners, arguing that the matter falls under the War Damages Act 1965.
The post Nigeria court orders UK to pay reparations for deaths of 21 coal miners appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.
Justice Anthony Onovo awarded each victim’s family £20 million in compensation, which he stated would be an “effective remedy and compensation for the violations of the right to life.” In his ruling he stated, “[t]hese defenseless coal miners were asking for improved working conditions; they were not embarking on any violent action against the authorities, yet they were shot and killed.”
His ruling also stipulated that post-judgement interest will accumulate at 10 percent annually until compensation is fully paid by the UK government. Additionally, he required the UK government to issue a formal “unreserved written apology”. Justice Onovo ordered that these written apologies be sent to the victims’ families and published in national newspapers in both Nigeria and the United Kingdom.
In 1949, at the Iva Valley Coal Mine, miners were protesting harsh working conditions and racial disparity and used methods such as working slower as a form of direct action. However, as a result of this, 21 coal miners were killed and 51 others were injured.
The British Government has yet to respond. However, this situation draws strong parallels with a similar decision in 1965. In the Burmah Oil case during WWII, British forces destroyed Burmah Oil’s installations. Burmah Oil sued the UK government for compensation, and the House of Lords ruled in Burmah Oil’s favour.
The UK parliament introduced the War Damages Act 1965, which retroactively overturned the House of Lords’ decision and declared that no compensation was payable for war-related destruction.
Whilst there are stark differences between the two cases, it is possible that the British government will not pay reparations for the deaths of the 21 coal miners, arguing that the matter falls under the War Damages Act 1965.
The post Nigeria court orders UK to pay reparations for deaths of 21 coal miners appeared first on JURIST - News.
Continue reading...
Note: We don't have any responsibilities about this news. Its been posted here by Feed Reader and we had no controls and checking on it. And because News posted here will be deleted automatically after 21 days, threads are closed so that no one spend time to post and discuss here. You can always check the source and discuss in their site.