Key takeaways:

• The Supreme Court of Canada in Nevsun Resources Ltd v. Araya has held that common law claims against a Canadian mining corporation for alleged human rights violations of customary international law (“CIL”) are sufficiently plausible to survive a motion to strike.
• The decision breaks new ground by concluding that CIL obligations––the body of international law obligations that presumptively apply to all sovereign states––may apply to corporations, and that a remedy may exist to enforce those obligations directly under Canadian common law.
• The decision creates significant litigation uncertainty for companies subject to Canadian jurisdiction, particularly for companies whose operations may implicate human rights, the environment, and other business integrity issues.