The punishment being fines is criminal in and of itself.
Everyone involved needs to be locked away for a long, long time, not have to pay pennies as "punishment"
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Also if you take a step back, it's more like the US is getting a cut of the $, almost like profit sharing.
The legal (il)literacy on HN is astounding. The punishment isn't a fine, it's a civil judgment being awarded to the eight Colombian families that sued... this is the third paragraph in the article:
"Following a civil case brought by eight Colombian families whose relatives were killed by the AUC, Chiquita has been ordered to pay $38.3m (£30m) in damages to the families."
people here don't RTFA when there'a juicy contrarian stuff to say instead
Yes, but I also consistently seeing people refer to anything resulting from a court case (criminal or civil) as a "fine".
Because in non-legalise common English usage, "fine" just means "financial (usually) penalty for wrongdoing".
A civil lawsuit doesn't need to be anything like a speeding ticket from a legal point of view, from a normal person's point of view they can both result in a "you did something wrong, now you have to pay an amount set by the legal system".
They mistake the civil legal system for a fine imposed by the gov't, no need to be. obtuse about it.
Yes, people make mistakes, especially when common usage of a word like "fine" doesn't align precisely with legal use. In my opinion it's getting upset about not everyone having a concrete understanding of the legal system that there's no need for.
US is the same country that kills Iraqi civilians and requests money for the bullets from the Iraqi government that they control indirectly.
US is an evil empire.
Article III of The Hague convention:
“ (III): Convention relative to the Opening of Hostilities[26][27] This convention sets out the accepted procedure for a state making a declaration of war. It provides the basis on which, in international law, war reparations may be demanded.”
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hague_Conventions_of_1899_an...
You telling me a country initiating a war has the right to then ask for reparations for the damages and destruction they caused on the country they initiated the war against? That's so freaking absurd that it is actually funny!
I can only guess the wikipedia article is only a summary and the real convention could be around who is to blame for the war and other factors. Otherwise that's just so ridiculous that it actually encourages declaring wars on countries!
By the way, that summary only says "It provides the basis on which.. war reparations may be demanded". If anything I bet it sets out 'restrictions' on when countries can do that.
was there a declaration of war?
Who cares when it's the US. Laws only apply for the weak-handed. They controlled the Iraqi government anyway, and they were stealing all of its oil as they wished regardless. The reparations were only the icing on the cake.
The court decision requires payment of damages to the plaintiffs, not a fine. This was a civil case. In the US court system, fines are a criminal matter.
I would imagine that will be a bit hard as I assume most involved is either dead or too old to stand fit for jail.
But this is a civil case so they can't get more than money.
Honest what is disgusting is the chump change they are getting 38 mil only for the insane amount of profit the company gained.
Another cost of doing business
Its a step in the right direction.
How is it a step in the right direction? If anything, it just sets a precedent - this is how much you should expect to pay in fines for committing atrocities.
I think you missunderstand the "everybody is equal in front of law".
If i make a crime, i go to jail. If a company does it, it gets a pat on a back and an insignificant fine. (exceptions - Volkwagen - apply).
Keep in mind that any company operating in Russia (paying taxes, providing data to "law" enforcement, etc.) would fit the same jumpsuit.
We could go that way, but it would be a serious change of rules and create its own perverse incentives.
Paying a terrorist org or doing business in a unaligned country is a very different story.
The US needs certain things from Russia: it's not that all trade has been sanctioned. Just trade that does not have enough lobby power to protect it.