The judgment seeks a "liability judgment" against the Defendant [Savaro] "for an amount of damages to be assessed".
"Based on Lebanese law and the legal grounds presented by the plaintiffs, the UK court finds that Savaro Ltd is liable for the damages caused to the victims. This is a big step, because it is the first time a court has held an organization responsible for this tragedy," former labor minister Camille Abousleiman, a senior lawyer at Dechert in charge of the case, told The National.
The Beirut Bar Association announced the verdict on Thursday, February 1, in what it described as a "great success" for the victims of the explosion.
The catastrophic blast, considered the largest non-nuclear explosion in history, was caused by the ignition of 2,750 tons of improperly stored ammonium nitrate.
Records show that Savaro transported the ammonium nitrate to an explosives company in Mozambique in 2013, before the cargo was seized at the port of Beirut over unpaid shipping charges and a dispute over the seaworthiness of the vessel carrying it.
According to an exclusive investigation by The Cradle columnist Ridwan Murtaza, the highly volatile substance was abandoned in the heart of Beirut for seven years due to the negligence of the Lebanese army and the country's judiciary.
"The devastating explosion could have been prevented if the army had fulfilled its duty, entrusted exclusively to the Lebanese army under the country's Arms and Ammunition Law, by supervising the storage, destruction or re-export of nitrate," Murtaza says.
The Cradle columnist continues: "Similarly, had the judges performed their legally binding, not politically binding, duties, the verdict would have ensured the destruction or immediate export of the explosives from Warehouse 12 at the Port of Beirut."
Murtaza's statements led to him being sentenced in absentia by a Lebanese military court to one year in prison. No Lebanese official has ever been held responsible for the explosion, as the local investigation has been consistently obstructed and politicized by foreign interests.
But the London High Court's ruling says Savaro remains the legal owner of the ammonium nitrate and is responsible for its proper storage and the damage it caused.
The ruling also argues that abandoning hazardous chemicals in Beirut does not absolve the company of any duty of care.
Savaro, a shell company with a few employees and no actual activity, has been trying to secure its liquidation from the UK's House of Corporate Registrars since 2021 to escape responsibility for the tragedy.
"The UK authorities stopped the voluntary liquidation of the firm thanks to the lawsuit," Abousleiman told reporters.
The Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project had previously reported that Savaro was part of a wider network of companies run by Ukrainian businessmen whose operations were hidden behind "at least half a dozen trade names and various non-existent shell companies."
Lawyers also consider the verdict against Savaro an "ultimatum" against the company, which has failed to disclose its ultimate beneficial owner despite being required to do so by the court.
Last year, several of the victims' families filed a $250 million lawsuit against the US-Norwegian firm TGS, suspected of transporting the explosives to the port.
https://hurseda.net/roportaj-gorus/247942-beyrut-limanindaki-patlamadan-ingiliz-sirket-sorumlu-bulundu.html
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