International companies can be big - even richer than some countries.I will show you how ordinary people have taken large corporations, using the power of the law.
1)The longest case in British legal history: two friends who took McDonald's power!
2)Canceled flights: the reason why you can now get your money in Europe ...
You may have heard of McLibel, the longest criminal case in England.
Activists Helen Steel and David Morris handed out the pamphlet 'What's wrong with McDonald's'.
He said "McDonald's encouraged garbage, was cruel to animals and workers, and destroyed rain forests." But McDonald’s retaliated, demanding that activists apologize or go to court ... they did just that!!
However, a British judge ruled that McDonald’s was right and ordered Helen and David to pay £ 60,000 in damages, which were later reduced to £ 40,000, but the case did not end there. The activists have gone to the European Court of Human Rights in Strasbourg, taking action against the UK government in this regard.
They said that because they could not get legal aid, they could not be tried properly.
A Strasbourg court accepted and stated that their right to freedom of expression had not been protected. The UK government was ordered to pay £ 57,000!
why this case has gone to international court, let's see one of the lawyers involved - Mark Stephens.
Mark Stephens
When you go to the European Court, you are taking a case - not a complaint - you are taking a case against the British government, because the British government has not yet affirmed the basic human rights standards. So what we were doing was exposing the public that there were problems with the case because they did not have legal representatives, which they should have done.
David and Helen did not have a fair trial in the UK, so they were able to bring a new case to the European Court. So, what helped Helen and David?
One of the things about McLibel, which is not well understood, is kind of a feature of David and Goliath, in the sense that Steel and Morris did not gain lawyers. The judge therefore granted them considerable freedom to ask their questions, to arrange their questions and to comment.
And as a result, they were able to file a lawsuit, which the legal team would have been barred from doing, and that was to their advantage. And I think there is another issue, namely, that Steel and Morris were in need: they were smart, but they had no money. They lost nothing; they had no home to lose.
Some members of the group also settled down with McDonald's because they did not want to lose their homes.
Helen and David lost nothing, and that was a benefit. Finally, should big companies be allowed to sue individuals?
One of the real benefits to society, and the positive outcome in this case, is that the law is amended so that companies can not sue for defamation, because swearing is about a person’s hurt feelings and already the company does not. emotions.
Yes, you know, the directors and executives of a company can be sued for lying, but not the company either. Therefore, the case could not be brought to the fore in modern times, following these legal changes due to the McLibel case. Companies are now unable to do this: this case has led to a change in UK law so that companies can not sue for lying.
So this showed us that not only people who can take these big companies to court, they can sometimes change the law to help other people in the future.I
If you have been canceled, you may be able to claim compensation. And that could be because of one woman.
Hermann's plane was canceled because the plane is crashed..
The airline, Alitalia, said this was a 'special situation' - something very unusual and unexpected - so they would not reimburse customers for lost money.
Friederike took the matter to court, where a judge ruled that the engine should not be used. The case was remanded for a new trial in Europe, but it said the same thing.
Friederike got his money back and now all European customers are entitled to a refund for canceled flights due to equipment problems.
Let's see Flight Attorney Tony Payne talk about the impact that one small case can have
TonyPayne
While it may be only ... it is considered a small amount for one person, the fact of the matter is that there are many people on any one plane too ... and there are many flights. And with the application, you can see one wrong decision could have the effect of floodgate. And while this may only be £ 250, these types of claims, almost in the case of a category, could end up being the airline’s most important costs.
That shows that one person taking a company to court and winning may make it more likely that others will win. Will foreigners always win in the courts because they have more money than one person?
While it may be the idea that airline companies have a fair amount of money, that is not the case: they use very tight jeans, allowing customers like you and me to buy airline tickets at very low cost. So, they may actually lose a lot of money if these cases are against them. Airlines are not as rich as they seem to be and they have no unlimited money, so they can be in real danger if many people take them to court. So, can one case change the law?
Well, the foundation the law is on, the law is changed. Therefore, the law is made by Parliament, or by the European Commission in this case, or by the European Parliament, and the law will be amended as the courts look to explain how that law was made.
So, it happens every day of the week: you know, the courts always operate at different levels and that's those rules the law has been intrepted.
In the aviation context, you might see something like this every six months - that there is, sort of, significant new law coming about, but I can tell you that, you know, there are hundreds and hundreds of these claims on for... sometimes for any one airline at any one time. So, it's a... it's a significant likelihood that you are seeing these things happen.
This means that although parliaments or other bodies make the laws, action by small people in court can and does have a real effect in changing how the law is interpreted in court cases.
That case might have left us wondering why Alitalia decided to go to court not once, but twice!
People can have a real impact on big companies. Often lots of people make the same complaint. He also showed that the way the law is used is changed and updated by people like you going to court.
This also showed you how, when a national court fails you, you can take your case to an international court
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