NGOs and the Regulation of Multinational Corporations: Perspectives from the ECOWAS Court of Justice
Book chapter
Ekhator, E. 2025. NGOs and the Regulation of Multinational Corporations: Perspectives from the ECOWAS Court of Justice. in: Gauci, J. P. and Greville, G. (ed.) Non-State Actors and International Law Brill.
| Authors | Ekhator, E. |
|---|---|
| Editors | Gauci, J. P. and Greville, G. |
| Abstract | Currently, there is no explicit or binding international framework regulating the activities of multinational corporations (MNCs). In the Nigerian context, victims and other stakeholders regularly file suits in different foreign jurisdictions (including home States of MNCs) in attempts to hold MNCs accountable for their infractions. NGOs are at the forefront of most litigation that has been instituted in foreign jurisdictions arising from the negative impacts of the operations or activities of MNCs in Nigeria. Strategic litigation at the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Community Court of Justice (ECCJ) is one of the most successful regulatory strategies utilised by NGOs in Nigeria to influence the activities of government agencies and MNCs. For example, the Socio-Economic Rights and Accountability Project (SERAP) (a Nigeria-based NGO) and a plethora of other NGOs have relied on the ECCJ in this regard. In SERAP v Federal Government of Nigeria, the ECCJ held that only the Nigerian government (and not MNCs) can be held accountable or liable for human rights violations and environmental injustices in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria. Also, the ECCJ declined jurisdiction over several MNCs operating in the oil and gas sector. This chapter contends that notwithstanding that litigation as a regulatory strategy by NGOs is beset by many impediments, litigation at the ECCJ by SERAP (and other NGOs) has improved the human rights architecture in Nigeria and led to indirect regulatory impacts on the behaviour of MNCs and national environmental agencies in Nigeria. |
| Keywords | Regulation of multinational corporations; International Law; ECOWAS Court of Justice; Litigation |
| Year | 2025 |
| Book title | Non-State Actors and International Law |
| Publisher | Brill |
| File | File Access Level Restricted |
| Output status | In press |
| Publication process dates | |
| Accepted | 16 Oct 2025 |
| Deposited | 31 Oct 2025 |
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