Thousands of Zambian villagers can bring a legal challenge in the English courts against mining company Vedanta over alleged pollution in Zambia, the UK’s highest court ruled on Wednesday. The Supreme Court said that the lawsuit brought by 1,800 Zambian villagers can be heard in London despite arguments by Vedanta that the case should be tried by the Zambian courts. It ruled that the lawsuit could proceed in England because the claimants, who are all living in poverty, would struggle to access justice in Zambia and the country does not permit “no win no fee” arrangements for claimants to pay legal fees...

The ruling is significant because it paves the way for more environmental claims to be brought in London against large multi nationals with global operations — particularly from claimants living in poorer countries where there is a difficulty in accessing legal funding. The ruling also indicates that companies have a duty of care to third parties for the commitments they make publicly regarding their subsidiaries...