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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Comment
George Monbiot

Hello, foreign oligarchs and corporations! Please come and sue the UK for billions

The sun setting behind the West Cumbria Mining offices in 2022 in Whitehaven, England
The sun setting behind the West Cumbria Mining offices in 2022 in Whitehaven. The company no longer has any registered addresses in the UK. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

How do you reckon our political system works? Perhaps something like this. We elect MPs. They vote on bills. If a majority is achieved, the bills becomes law. The law is upheld by the courts. End of story. Well, that’s how it used to work. No longer.

Today, foreign corporations, or the oligarchs who own them, can sue governments for the laws they pass, at offshore tribunals composed of corporate lawyers. The cases are held in secret. Unlike our courts, these tribunals allow no right of appeal or judicial review. You or I cannot take a case to them, nor can our government, or even businesses based in this country. They are open only to corporations based overseas.

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