Polluting Water and Fossil Fuel Bosses Are Being Put Under Citizen’s Arrest for Causing a ‘Public Nuisance’
Professor David Whyte speaks to the Byline Times about Citizens Arrest Network's targeting of executives at UK water and oil and gas companies.
The Citizens Arrest Network (CAN) is serving various executives at UK water and oil and gas companies with legal documents and attempting to place them under citizen's arrest to, as CAN argues, hold those driving environmental pollution to account.
David Whyte, Professor of Climate Justice and Director of the Centre for Climate Crime and Climate Justice at Queen Mary University of London, says that normally these individuals hide behind the 'corporate veil', where the company is held liable for any regulatory offences. “Effectively what the CAN is doing is attempting to pierce the corporate veil. They are trying to overcome the problem that directors, senior managers and CEOs can use the company to mask decisions that they make as individuals. I think it’s quite an important approach to thinking about legal accountability,” he said.
Read the full article on the Byline Times.