Sarei v. Rio Tinto
United States District Court for the Central District of California
221 F. Supp. 2d 1116 (2002)
- Written by Andrea Smith, JD
Facts
Rio Tinto (defendant) built and operated an open-pit copper mine in the middle of the island of Bougainville, Papua New Guinea. Residents of Bougainville, including Alexis Sarei (collectively, the residents) (plaintiffs), brought an action against Rio Tinto under the Alien Tort Claims Act. The residents alleged that the mining operation severely polluted the island’s rivers and bay with mine tailings. The pollution made the island’s water unsafe for drinking or bathing and killed off crops and fish. The residents argued that Rio Tinto violated customary international law prohibiting marine pollution, as evidenced by the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Rio Tinto moved to dismiss the claim, arguing that the pollution complained of by the residents was outside the scope of UNCLOS, which governed only the open sea. Rio Tinto also argued that UNCLOS required the exhaustion of national remedies and that disputes arising under the treaty were to be submitted to an international tribunal, not a national court.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Morrow, J.)
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