Justice in Perspective - Namibia: | Herero People's Reparations Corporation et al. v. Deutsche Bank, Terex Co. (Orenstein-Koppel) and Woermann Line (Deutsche Afrika-Linien GmbH & Co.)

LATEST UPDATE

In April 2006, the New York court concluded that the Washington, DC, court ruling was binding and dismissed the case against Deutsche Bank. The Woermann case was similarly dismissed. The Herero brought an appeal before the Third Circuit Court, which affirmed the lower court’s ruling in April 2007.

Click here to read more

TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE PROCESSES

Herero People's Reparations Corporation et al. v. Deutsche Bank, Terex Co. (Orenstein-Koppel) and Woermann Line (Deutsche Afrika-Linien GmbH & Co.)

Updated in February 2011

Namibia:

Herero People's Reparations Corporation et al. v. Deutsche Bank, Terex Co. (Orenstein-Koppel) and Woermann Line (Deutsche Afrika-Linien GmbH & Co.)

Details: Category: Mechanism; Created on Friday, 21 October 2011 01:24; Last Updated on Wednesday, 14 December 2011 22:09; Published on Wednesday, 30 November -0001 00:00; Written by Super User; Hits: 382

NAMES OF CASES

Herero People's Reparations Corporation et al. v. Deutsche Bank, Terex Co. (Orenstein-Koppel) and Woermann Line (Deutsche Afrika-Linien GmbH & Co.)

PERIOD

September 2001 – 2007

RESULTS

The claim against Terex, filed in a Washington, DC, court, was withdrawn because the corporation had allegedly been under different management at the time of the genocide. In time, the claims against Deutsche Bank and Woermann were dismissed by the same court for various reasons, including lack of jurisdiction. The claim against Deutsche Bank was then filed in a New York federal court.

In April 2005, a new case was filed against Woermann in the District Court of New Jersey. The court dismissed the claim for several legal reasons as well as the impracticality of the case itself (for example, none of the claimants had been born at the time of the genocide).

In April 2006, the New York court concluded that the Washington, DC, court ruling was binding and dismissed the case against Deutsche Bank. The Woermann case was similarly dismissed. The Herero brought an appeal before the Third Circuit Court, which affirmed the lower court’s ruling in April 2007 [Business and HR Resource Center | 2007].

BACKGROUND

Between 1904 and 1908, the German colonial government committed genocide against the Herero and other indigenous groups in what was then German South West Africa. Machine gun massacres, concentration camps, slavery and forced dehydration were used to kill off Herero, Nama and other groups. This campaign resulted in the deaths of three-quarters of the Herero population [BBC | Jan 2006].

In September 2001, the Herero People's Reparations Corporation and the Herero tribe filed suit against three corporations they argued collaborated with the colonial government in the genocide: Deutsche Bank, Terex Corporation (Orenstein-Koppel) and Woermann Line (Deutsche Afrika-Linien GmbH and Co.).

SOURCES