Jump to full article: BBC Online, 2001-04-02
Intro: A US court has cleared the way for the Marshall Islands to launch an multi-billion dollar suit against US tobacco companies over health care costs related to smoking.
The tobacco companies had argued that courts in the Marshall Islands should be disqualified from hearing the case because of alleged political interference from the judiciary.
US Chief Justice Allen Fields said that claims put forward by the tobacco companies were hypocritical and without merit.
The tobacco companies had argued to the US Supreme Court that they could not get a fair trial because of the Marshall Islands' tribal system of chiefs or iroij, who they claimed influenced the courts. . .
Originally, the Marshall Islands had filed 11 charges claiming compensation of over $4bn against Philip Morris, RJ Reynolds and the American Tobacco Co. but the US High Court dismissed all but one action, which will now go to trial in the Marshall Islands in September.
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