Law Commons^™

The Transformation Of Human Rights Litigation: The Alien Tort Statute, The Anti-Terrorism Act, And Jasta, Stephen J. Schnably

University of Miami International and Comparative Law Review

A quarter century ago, the prospects for federal civil litigation of international human rights violations under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) seemed bright. With the statute’s modern revival, a decade earlier in Filártiga, foreign nationals, often with no recourse in their own countries, had a forum for judicial vindication of a broad range of wrongs by state officials, multinational corporations, and even, in limited circumstances, foreign states themselves. The Supreme Court’s Kiobel decision in 2013, however, may signal the end of the Filártiga revolution, with Congress’s seeming acquiescence: Congress, after all, could amend the ATS if it disagreed with …

Applying Domestic Statutes To Foreign Conduct: How Much Does Kiobel Touch And Concern The Presumption Against Extraterritorial Application, Jessica Neer Mcdonald

University of Miami Inter-American Law Review

This paper examines a tumultuous history of applying United States law to foreign conduct in United States federal courts and the impact of recent Supreme Court decisions in this area. Despite its inconsistent application, the presumption against extraterritorial application may bridle Article III courts’ authority of applying domestic law to foreign conduct. Notably, a complicated test of displacing the presumption has emerged from the recent Supreme Court case of Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., which concerned foreign conduct under the Alien Tort Statute (“ATS”). The test states the presumption is overcome if the foreign conduct “touches and concerns” …

Extraterritorial Application Of The Alien Tort Statute After Kiobel, Ranon Altman

University of Miami Business Law Review

This article explores when corporations can be held liable under the Alien Tort Statute for human rights abuses that are committed outside of the United States. The Alien Tort Statute grants the United States district courts jurisdiction for torts committed against foreigners in violation of the law of nations. While the Alien Tort Statute concerns international law, it does not indicate whether the district courts have jurisdiction over disputes that involve conduct outside of the United States.

In this article, I focus my analysis on the Supreme Court’s 2013 decision in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. That case …