Supreme Court Allows Apartheid Victims’ Lawsuit Against US Companies To Proceed

The Supreme Court said Monday that it cannot intervene in an important dispute over the rights of apartheid victims to sue U.S. corporations in U.S. courts because four of the nine justices had to sit out the case over apparent conflicts.

The result is that a lawsuit accusing some prominent companies of violating international law by assisting South Africa’s former apartheid government will go forward.

Apartheid was a system of legal and racial separation that dominated South Africa from 1984 to 1993.

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The justices have ties to Bank of America, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Colgate-Palmolive, Credit Suisse, Exxon Mobil, Hewlett-Packard, IBM and Nestle, among nearly three dozen companies that asked the high court to step in.

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The lawsuit raises sticky questions about U.S. policy toward governments accused of repression. For example, the administration said the government may impose targeted sanctions while still allowing commerce in order to encourage reform. The suit could undermine that policy.

Common Dreams