Center for Constitutional Rights

$15.5 Million settlement compensates Nigerian activists and creates a Trust to benefit the Ogoni People

About CCR

The Center for Constitutional Rights is dedicated to advancing and protecting the rights guaranteed by the United States Constitution and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Founded in 1966 by attorneys who represented civil rights movements in the South, CCR is a non-profit legal and educational organization committed to the creative use of law as a positive force for social change.

What's New

Guantanamo Lawyers Urge Portuguese Government to Accept Eight Refugees Who Wish to Come to Portugal
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Statement of the Plaintiffs’ Attorneys in Wiwa v. Royal Dutch/Shell, Wiwa v. Anderson and Wiwa v. SPDC
June 8, 2009 Today, plaintiffs and defendants reached a settlement in the human rights cases brought against Royal Dutch Petroleum Company and Shell Transport and Trading, p.l.c., Shell’s Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria,… Read more >>
Statement of the Plaintiffs in Wiwa v. Royal Dutch/Shell, Wiwa v. Anderson and Wiwa v. SPDC
June 8, 2009 The Plaintiffs in the Wiwa v. Shell cases are pleased to announce a settlement of their claims. The settlement will provide $15.5 million to compensate the injuries to the Plaintiffs and the deaths… Read more >>
Settlement Reached in Human Rights Cases Against Royal Dutch/Shell
New York, June 8, 2009 — Today, the parties in Wiwa v. Shell agreed to settle human rights claims charging the Royal Dutch/Shell company, its Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC or Shell Nigeria),… Read more >>
CCR Statement in Response to EU JHA Agreement on Accepting Men Transferred From Guantánamo
June 4, 2009, New York – The Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) issued the following statement in response to the agreement reached by EU Ministries of the Interior and Schengen associated countries establishing a framework… Read more >>
Appeals Court Rules Against Shell Nigeria, Allows Plaintiffs to Seek Further Information to Establish Connections to U.S.
New York, June 3, 2009 – Today, the Second Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the District Court decision dismissing the Wiwa v. Shell plaintiffs’ claims against Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria, Ltd. (Shell Nigeria).… Read more >>
CCR Statement in Response to the Murder of Dr. George Tiller
June 1, 2009, New York, NY – In response to the murder of respected and celebrated OB-GYN physician and abortion provider Dr. George Tiller in Wichita, Kansas this week, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR)… Read more >>
Second Round of Homelessness for Katrina Victims as FEMA Prepares to Enforce June 1 Eviction Date
This is a repost of a press release by the US Human Rights Network of which the Center for Constitutional Rights is a member. Atlanta, May 29, 2009 - In response to the Federal Emergency… Read more >>
CCR Statement on Prop 8 and SCOTUS Decision on Questioning Defendants Without Lawyers Present
May 27, 2009, New York – In response to both the California Supreme Court ruling supporting Proposition 8, the anti-gay marriage ballot initiative, and the United States Supreme Court ruling overturning the ban on police… Read more >>
Landmark Human Rights Trial Against Royal Dutch/Shell for Human Rights Abuses in Nigeria Postponed
New York, May 26th, 2009 – The beginning of the trial in the landmark human rights lawsuits Wiwa v. Royal Dutch Petroleum (Shell) and Wiwa v. Anderson has been delayed. The case had been previously… Read more >>

Inside CCR

An Uncompromising Voice for Justice
Haiti's Revolutionary Priest Gerard Jean-Juste: Presente! CCR Legal Director Bill Quigley writes about the live and work of Father Gerard Jean-Juste, Haitian priest and revolutionary, who died May 27, 2009 at age 62 in Miami. Read more >>