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Kiobel, Subject Matter Jurisdiction, And The Alien Tort Statute, Bradford R. Clark
Kiobel, Subject Matter Jurisdiction, And The Alien Tort Statute, Bradford R. Clark
GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
The Supreme Court is currently reviewing the Second Circuit’s decision in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, a case holding that federal courts lack jurisdiction under the Alien Tort Statute (“ATS”) over claims against corporations. Although the parties have focused on issues of corporate liability under the ATS, there is a logically antecedent question of subject matter jurisdiction that the Court should decide before considering corporate liability. All of the parties in Kiobel — whether corporate or individual — are aliens. Understood in its full legal and historical context, the ATS was a jurisdictional statute that did not apply to suits …
The Law Of Nations As Constitutional Law, Bradford R. Clark, Anthony J. Bellia Jr.
The Law Of Nations As Constitutional Law, Bradford R. Clark, Anthony J. Bellia Jr.
GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works
Courts and scholars continue to debate the status of customary international law in U.S. courts, but have paid insufficient attention to the role that such law plays in interpreting and upholding several specific provisions of the Constitution. The modern position argues that courts should treat customary international law as federal common law. The revisionist position contends that customary international law applies only to the extent that positive federal or state law has adopted it. Neither approach adequately takes account of the Constitution’s allocation of powers to the federal political branches in Articles I and II or the effect of these …