Asbestos claim green light

The House of Lords last week gave the green light to around 3,000 South African asbestos workers to have their claims heard in the UK in a key decision on UK court jurisdiction.In a unanimous judgment overturning two lower court decisions, five Law Lords ruled that the interests of justice required the continuance of the case in the UK where the employer's holding company, Cape, is registered.The claimants argued that the absence of legal aid in South Africa and unwillingness of lawyers to take on the case would mean that the claimants would go unrepresented.

It was also argued that they would be denied their right to a fair trial under the European Convention on Human Rights.In his judgment, senior Law Lord Lord Bingham said that if the proceedings were heard in South Africa, the claimants would in all probability fail to obtain the professional representation and expert evidence needed if the claims were to be justly decided.Richard Meeran of Leigh Day & Co, one of the lead claimant lawyers, said the decision was a 'victory for justice' which signalled a new era both in terms of the legal accountability of multinationals and the protection of human rights by the English courts.Anthony Coombs of John Pickering & Partners in Manchester, which acts for around 1,200 claimants, said the case raised the very important issue of whether a parent company in the UK could be held liable for harm to workers in a developing country.Cape, represented by City firm Davis Arnold Cooper, was ordered to pay the legally aided claimants' appeal costs.

Sue Allen