Anvil Mining Ltd. v. Association Canadienne Contre l'Impunité

On January 24, 2012, the Québec Court of Appeal rejected an appeal on a motion made by the Association Canadienne Contre l'Impunité/Canadian Association Against Impunity (CAAI) to request the authorization to institute a class action proceeding against Anvil Mining Limited (Anvil) regarding its alleged complicity in the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC).

The CAAI was set up under the joint initiative of five NGO's for the purposes of instituting class actions with respect to events that occurred in the DRC, more particularly in 2004. Anvil is a Canadian mining company that was incorporated in the North-West Territories in 2004, and its head office is located in Perth, Australia. Its principal, if not sole activity, is the exploitation of a copper and silver mine located in the DRC copper belt close to the border with Zambia. Since 2005, Anvil leases office space in Montréal, Québec where two