I'm Marissa Wong, Internet Lawfare, with an episode from the Lawfare

for May 2, 2006.

On April 28th, the Supreme Court heard oral argument in Cisco Systems v. Doe, a case focusing on whether two federal statutes allow victims of human rights abuses to file lawsuits against parties for aiding and abetting those violations of human rights and international law.

For today's archive, I chose an episode from June 26, 2022,

in which Natalie Orpitt set down with Michael Posner to discuss the federal trial against Chiquita Banana

for its involvement in financing a paramilitary group in Colombia.

They also discussed the verdict's implications on the fight to

hold corporations legally accountable for human rights violations.

It's the Lawfare podcast. I'm Natalie Orpet, executive editor of lawfare, with Mike Posner,

director of the Center for Business and Human Rights at New York University's Stern School of

Business and a former Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and

labor. Over a period of several decades, we've... Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor.

Over a period of several decades, we've seen, again, a demand for justice, a demand for accountability, and a recognition in the world that there is now a global economy where a lot

of big companies are operating in tough places and making the wrong choices, frankly.

Today we're talking about a recent case out of Florida where a jury delivered a verdict against Chiquita Banana,

awarding $38 million to the families of people killed by a paramilitary group in Colombia and what it

means for the future of corporate accountability for human rights. So last week, a jury found

Chiquita Banana liable for human rights abuses in Colombia that had occurred in the 1990s and

early 2000s. The jury awarded the plaintiffs $38 million in damages.

And it's a really remarkable case for a number of reasons, but in particular, and what I wanted to

speak with you about, is the finding of corporate liability for human rights violations and the fact that that is so rare

under U.S. law. So I want to come back a little bit later to why that is more specifically.

...