Alien Torts Claim Act Gutted by Supreme Court
In a startling decision, the US Supreme Court has severely limited the actions that may be brought under the Alien Tort Statute, according to Forbes magazine. The Alien Tort Law Statute allowed foreign nationals to US Courts to claim for damages against American companies that have committed human rights violations abroad.
In recent history the Act has been used against UNOCAL for human rights claims concerning the building of the oil pipeline in Burma.
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The case before the Court was Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, and involved Twelve Nigerian plaintiffs who accused three oil companies – incorporated in the Netherlands, Britain, and Nigeria – of providing resources to the Nigerian government to torture, murder, and conduct other human rights violations. All of the alleged participants and their alleged wrong act were based outside of America’s borders.
The majority of the Supreme Court concluded, “there is no indication that the ATS was passed to make the United States a uniquely hospitable forum for the enforcement of international norms.” In applying this legal standard to the facts of the case, the Court concluded that“all the relevant conduct took place outside the United States. And even where the claims touch and concern the territory of the United States, they must do so with sufficient force to displace the presumption against extraterritorial application.”
