Español
Francais
Doe v. Unocal: Forced Labor and Corporate Liability
Howard Tolley, Jr. and Anne Lawrence1Synopsis
Copyright © 2002 by Howard Tolley, Jr., with grant support
from the Ohio Learning Network. All Rights Reserved.
THRO Case No. 202-1, ISSN 1529-2215.Widespread allegations of forced labor made Burma's military regime an international pariah in the 1990s. Human rights advocates campaigned for sanctions at the United Nations, the International Labor Organization, the European Union, the U.S. Congress, and in state and local governments. Two major oil companies from France and the U.S. nevertheless joined Burma's government in a pipeline consortium project that they maintained would benefit the impoverished and contribute to democratic reform. Burmese villagers brought a class action lawsuit in U.S. District Court charging the consortium with profiting from forced labor. "Doe v. Unocal: Forced Labor and Corporate Liability" presents a legal issue: whether Unocal is liable for the human rights violations of its government joint venture partner. Two other THRO exercises address related issues. "Sanctions or Engagement? SLORC in Myanmar:" shares a common introduction with this exercise, but then addresses a public policy question: Should the international and U.S. efforts to isolate the military regime be continued? "Unocal and Myanmar: An Ethical Joint Venture?" presents the problem as a business ethics case using evidence uncovered in the Doe v. Unocal litigation.
Print the entire case in a PDF format
Print the entire case in an HTML format
