http://www.corpwatch.org/issues/PID.jsp?articleid=1810
The Death Penalty for Corporations Comes of Age By Russell Mokhiber Business Ethics November 1, 1998 In two surprising recent cases, a law school professor and a circuit court judge seek to revoke the charters of corporate lawbreakers. We know what the death penalty for individuals means: Commit an egregious crime, die at the hands of the state. What does it mean to talk about the ''death penalty'' for corporations? More Inc..."On September 10, he and a coalition of more than 30 public interest organizations filed a petition calling on the attorney general (AG) of California to revoke the charter of Union Oil of California (Unocal). In social responsibility circles, Unocal is best (or perhaps worst) known for its controversial Burma pipeline, being built by a consortium co-owned in part by Unocal and the outlaw military regime there. For construction of the pipeline, the Burmese regime has reportedly seized land, forcibly relocated villages, and used unpaid labor -- even of children and the elderly. Benson's petition cites many other outrages as well -- including ''unspeakable'' human rights violations in Unocal's dealings with the Taliban militia in Afghanistan, which is known for its extreme cruelty in treatment of women; plus responsibility for the 1969 oil blowout in the Santa Barbara Channel; in addition to hundreds of other environmental and employee-safety violations. Noting that California routinely puts out of business hundreds of unruly accountants, lawyers, and doctors every year, the coalition called upon California Attorney General Dan Lungren (who is running for Governor) to revoke Unocal's charter. ''We're letting the people of California in on a well-kept secret,'' said Benson. ''The people mistakenly assume that we have to try to control these giant corporate repeat offenders one toxic spill at a time, one layoff at a time, one human rights violation at a time. But the law has always allowed the attorney general to go to court to simply dissolve a corporation for wrongdoing and sell its assets to others who will operate in the public interest.'' In California, this power of charter revocation has apparently been invoked only once this century -- in 1976, when a conservative Republican AG asked a court to dissolve a private water company for allegedly delivering impure water to its customers..."And...the AG sought to revoke the charters of two corporations that put out allegedly deceptive ''scientific'' research for the tobacco industry. _________________________________________________________________ Send and receive Hotmail on your mobile device: http://mobile.msn.com
