The overturn by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which now allows the plaintiffs of the Myanmar Vs. Unocal case to bring it to court, was a significant departure from the "pending" stage that most ACTA cases assumed. Speaking on behalf of his Myanmar clients, lawyer Richard Herz commented, "The Ninth Circuit has affirmed that US corporations cannot violate international human rights with impunity." 36

With this latest agreement, similar cases may yet see their day in court. This development raises a number of questions, which compound those raised in the previous World Review. For example, should it be left to a domestic law to monitor the actions of a corporation that has global reach? Should it lie within a county court judge or jury decision? What about the country where the "wrong" took place? Should they be allowed to have a say in the outcome? These and similar questions were posed by Elliot Schrage in the September edition of Ethical Corporation. In his article he claimed that it is in the global North's best interest to help install good judicial systems within developing countries. He sees that, "when foreign victims can find meaningful redress in their home countries, US judicial activism will smack of judicial imperialism. In theory and in practice, local courts should be able to identify problems earlier, resolve them faster and tailor solutions more appropriately to local conditions". 37 Ideally then, courts in 'developing' countries should be able to bring multinational companies to court with a good chance of realising justice. However, while cases like Bhopal exist that highlight the complexities of bringing foreign multinationals to legal courts in such countries, the legitimacy for using national laws from 'developed' countries may remain strong. Not only has the Indian government received pressure from Washington to reduce the charges placed on Mr. Anderson, the former CEO of Union Carbide who will face culpable homicide charges over the 1984 Bhopal gas disaster, but also the government is anxious not to scare foreign investors away. 38

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