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High Court (TCC) permits contempt proceedings against BHP over alleged interference with administration of justice by funding Ibram’s Brazilian Supreme Court claim in Mariana dam litigation (England and Wales)

Published on: 30 June 2025

Published by a Law360 reporter
Legal News
Article summary

The High Court determined that the Australian miner must now confront claims it tried to obstruct the municipalities’ access to justice in England by supporting proceedings in Brazil’s top court aimed at derailing compensation claims. In a written ruling, Judge Adam Constable stated the contempt application ought to be tried because the allegations were 'in principle capable of constituting a criminal contempt of court' if proven. The municipalities assert BHP is in contempt for agreeing to bankroll a case brought by Ibram, a Brazilian mining body, before the country’s Federal Supreme Court in 2024. They said that case was intended to stop them pressing ahead with the English action on the basis that Brazilian municipalities lack standing to litigate beyond Brazil’s jurisdiction. The municipalities further alleged BHP undermined the administration of justice in the High Court through its role in the Ibram proceedings, as any victory for Ibram would promptly and immediately terminate the English claims in England, bringing their compensation claims to an abrupt halt. They insist the Brazilian move was to stop their English case proceeding in England...

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