The ‘Preliminary Issues Trial’ is now being heard in the High Court in the matter where two Nigerian communities are claiming that their human rights have been breached due to environmental pollution caused by Shell plc and its Nigerian subsidiary.[i]  Shell claims no responsibility for the chronic pollution caused by its subsidiary and that it is not liable for damage to the pipelines caused by theft “on an industrial scale”[ii] and the illegal refining of spilled and stolen oil (‘illegal third-party interference’).[iii]  The Claimants allege that the illegal refining was a foreseeable consequence of pleaded duties to take reasonable steps to protect pipelines and other infrastructure against bunkering and other interference,[iv] notwithstanding that military and police security arrangements (a “joint task force”) had been made and relied upon by the Defendants, a joint task force allegedly known to be actively involved in unlawful bunkering.[v] The Claimants also allege that Shell managed or jointly managed its Nigerian subsidiary’s operations relating to pipeline integrity and security, and the prevention and/or detection of third part interference.[vi]

The communities have been seeking a clean-up and compensation since 2015, and have overcome several legal hurdles in reaching the current trial. The communities were finally given the green light to proceed by the Court of Appeal on 6 December 2024,[vii] upholding the appeal against the High Court finding the claim to be a ‘global claim’, which would have required the Claimants to link specific damage to individual oil spills at the pleadings stage.[viii] The Court of Appeal decided that it was wrong to impose upon the Claimants the need for their claims to be progressed on the basis that they are ‘global claims’, and that they should instead be tried through the selection of lead cases. The decision of the Court of Appeal enables claimants to bring forward complex environmental cases involving multiple pollution events without having to prove that a single polluter was responsible, particularly in the pleading of claims where claimants have limited information as their disposal. The Court of Appeal highlighted the importance of disclosure being given and expert evidence obtained “before pleading a case with full particularity”,[ix] and “to ensure that the parties are on an equal footing in relation to relevant information.”[x]

The scope of the legal issues to be decided at the full trial and the trial’s framework are now being determined, which will be followed by disclosure of documents, identification of lead claims and the gathering of scientific evidence. The full trial is anticipated to take place in late-2026.

[i]      Alame and others v Shell Plc and others KB-2023-000252.

[ii]     Alame and others v Shell Plc and others [2024] EWCA Civ 1500 [§14].

[iii]     Ibid [§66].

[iv]    Ibid [§69;71].

[v]     Ibid [§66].

[vi]    Ibid [§66].

[vii]    Ibid.

[viii]   Alame and others v Royal Dutch Shell and another [2024] EWHC 510 (KB).

[ix]    Alame and others v Shell Plc and others [2024] EWCA Civ 1500 [§83].

[x]     Ibid [§82;86;102].