United States

The US Supreme Court has cleared the way for a lawsuit against major international companies accused of aiding South Africa’s apartheid system. The court said it could not intervene over the case because of a potential conflict of interests. Four of the nine justices had ties to the firms involved and could not rule on the case, it said. By law, at least six justices must sit in order for the Supreme Court to hear a case. As a result, the court could only uphold a lower court ruling allowing a lawsuit to go ahead against firms accused of aiding South Africa’s apartheid system. (BBC)