Hearing to determine trial venue for Zambian pollution case

Lawyers for Vedanta Resources have told Britain’s Supreme Court that a case raised against the mining company by nearly 2 000 Zambian villagers should be heard in Zambia, not London. Business Day reports that India-listed Vedanta, which delisted from London in 2018 but retains a legal base in Britain, is appealing against a lower court ruling that a case in which villagers claimed their land was polluted by a Vedanta operation could be heard in the UK. In 2017, London’s Court of Appeal had found that 1 826 Zambian citizens living in the Copperbelt region had the right to sue Vedanta in the British courts. Vedanta is challenging this. The two-day hearing will be watched by other multinational companies with a base in London and facing legal challenges about their operations abroad from local residents. Britain’s highest court is not expected to deliver a judgment for several weeks.

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