Legal Action

Sherpa takes legal action to address violations perpetrated by economic players, with a twofold objective: on the one hand, to ensure that justice is served in specific cases, including supporting victims and affected communities seeking reparation. On the other hand, beyond specific cases, these legal actions, sometimes called “strategic litigation”, aim to contribute to wider systemic change.

Latest news on our cases

News
Illicit Financial Flows

Procedures & milestones : EIB-Uganda

March 2007: Agreement by the World Bank to finance the Bujagali hydroelectric dam project in Uganda. The first complaint to the World Bank Inspection Panel…
News
Corporate Impunity

Procedures & Milestones : Areva – Niger/Gabon

2003: Sherpa and CRIIRAD (the independent commission for research and information on radioactivity) are alerted by the Nigerian civil-society group about the impact of…

Impact

Why initiate legal action?

Sherpa

The law is a tool of power in a globalised world. It underpins power relations and encourages impunity for the most powerful. Because of their transnational nature, or the political and economic stakes involved, many violations escape justice. Bringing cases before the courts means putting the debate back on a legal footing, giving a voice to the people affected and thus restoring the legal tool to social movements.

Sherpa

Thanks to the work of NGOs and journalists, the consequences of globalisation are increasingly being documented and denounced. Our legal actions make it possible to initiate an contentious proceedings, establish the facts and apply the rules of law to these situations. They also aim to provide practical solutions by putting a stop to violations, holding the players concerned responsible and/or enabling victims to obtain compensation.

Sherpa

In support of our advocacy and in parallel with our legal laboratory and capacity-sharing activities, our legal actions are designed to contribute to wider and lasting change. They fuel public debate to highlight the limits of the legal framework and the obstacles facing the victims of globalised capitalism. They set precedents that shape a more protective legal framework.