October 2008, the Association of Victims filed a motion for a stay of proceedings on the grounds of legitimate suspicion, pursuant to Article 631 of the Code of Criminal Procedure.6 The Association of Victims denounced the fact that, despite flaws in the investigation and testimonies, as well as government interference in the trial, the Criminal Court insisted on proceeding with the trial. 9. In its judgment of 22 October 2008, the Criminal Court found the CEO of Tommy Company7 and an employee of (WAISB),8 who provided information about Tommy to Puma Energy, guilty of poisoning and abetment of poisoning. They were sentenced to twenty (20) years and five (5) years imprisonment respectively. However, the Respondent State’s officials were acquitted. 10. The victims subsequently brought several civil actions before different courts in the Respondent State to obtain reparation from the companies responsible for the dumping of the toxic waste and from the Respondent State for the damages suffered. The most important of these proceedings was the action brought before the Court of First Instance of Abidjan-Plateau by the families of eleven (11) victims who died as well as more than sixteen thousand (16,000) people who were affected. On 27 July 2010, by judgment No. 2799/2010, the Court of First Instance of Abidjan-Plateau found TRAFIGURA and Puma Energy liable and ordered them each to pay the sum of One Hundred Million (100,000,000) CFA francs to the families of seven (7) of the eleven (11) victims, as compensation. 11. Dissatisfied with the amount awarded, the families of the seven (7) victims appealed the judgment before the Abidjan Court of Appeal which, by Judgment No. 2010/359 of 24 December 2010, overturned the judgment with regard to the liability of TRAFIGURA and Puma Energy, on the grounds Article 631 of the CCP provides: “ Tommy Ltd. was established for the sole purpose of disposing of the waste loaded on board the vessel PROBO KOALA on behalf of TRAFIGURA Ltd. 8 WAISB is a company interfacing with TRAFIGURA Ltd in Abidjan for the purposes of dumping toxic waste. 6 7 5