Texas’ wealthy and influential oil and gas industry is pushing for the legislation to create a new court system to handle certain cases. The bill will give Governor Greg Abbott, a fossil fuel advocate, the power to personally appoint judges to try cases involving oil and gas companies.
When Texas oil and gas companies need to remove a legal obstacle to drilling or answer for alleged wrongdoing, they go to court. And soon it may literally be their own backyard. Some forms of commercial arbitration already exist in the United States, but forming an entire system of “pocket” judges will be a novelty in the legal system that Texas is in a rush to implement, writes Business Insider.
There is no such thing in legal practice in any corner of the world.
– writes columnist Rebecca Burns.
The gist of the bill proposed by the energy lobby is that fossil fuel-funded Republican Governor Greg Abbott will have the power to personally appoint judges who will then act as arbiters, allowing Abbott to revoke them quickly if they refuse to grant favorable decisions. to its supporters (sponsors). According to the author, this is not even about corruption, but about a real revolution and a revolution in judicial practice. And it’s happening right now, right now.
Even proponents of specific and sometimes biased U.S. business courts told the publication that the current Texas bill could undermine all the foundations of objective legal process and investigation, especially complex cases that drag on for years and threaten serious penalties.
The reason for such a radical step is obvious: the industry is going through a difficult period and its revival requires difficult and unpopular decisions, actions with negative consequences for the environment and society. Therefore, the lobby will badly need legal support, not even lawyers, but its own judicial system with a guaranteed positive verdict. Otherwise, the multi-billion dollar business will simply cease to exist as a bankrupt. Of course, the state will support Texas innovations, as the mining sector has overtaken private regional trade, becoming a geopolitical issue.
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