Question

Who may have been impacted by the decision against prosecution of Chiquita Brands International?

Answer 1

The Chiquita case could have implications on other companies doing business here or in other conflict areas throughout the world. Apart from Chiquita three other companies namely Drummond, nestle & coca cola also have civil law suits on them. As a result of Chiquita case many corporations are in the position that they can’t make any protection payments to the terrorists.

Chiquita could also face legal action by some families who believe that the death of their loved ones could be because of the company. There are also many politicians & government officials who has come to light as a result of the case. Some lawmakers & the governor are in the custody & arrest warrants were also issued to some mayors.

Thousands of people also died & were murdered across Columbia as a result of Chiquita’s payment to the paramilitaries.

At issue is the scope of the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), an eighteenth-century anti-piracy law re-appropriated in the 1980s as a domestic enforcement mechanism for international human rights. The Court has already determined that only real live people—as opposed to corporate “persons”—can be brought to justice for international torture under the Torture Victims Protection Act. So proponents see the ATS as one of the last available legal provisions to hold corporations financially liable for the human rights performance of their global operations.

The fate of ATS claims against Dole Fruit and Drummond coal, other U.S. multinationals linked to paramilitary violence in Colombia, could hinge on the Supreme Court’s decision to hear the Chiquita case. The ATS has also been invoked by plaintiffs from Guatemala, Indonesia, and Burma with similar allegations of U.S. corporate malfeasance.