The Civil Liability of the Parent Company for the Acts or Omissions of Its Subsidiary

Various litigation strategies have been elaborated with the aim of circumventing the corporate veil. In particular, a number of cases have focused on the direct liability of parent companies on the basis of an act (generally a decision at the origin of the damage) or an omission (a failure to act and take positive steps in order to prevent or remedy the damage). The proceedings brought both in the Netherlands and in the UK against Shell in relation to the environmental damage caused by oil spills in the Niger Delta are particularly interesting in this respect.