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Whether Foreigner Or Alien: A New Look At The Original Language Of The Alien Tort Statute, M. Anderson Berry
Whether Foreigner Or Alien: A New Look At The Original Language Of The Alien Tort Statute, M. Anderson Berry
M. Anderson Berry
Until now, the word that puts the ‘A’ in ATS has been completely overlooked. No court or commentator has delved in to the 1789 meaning of “alien,” or to the drafters' understanding of and possible intentions behind that word.
In the Supreme Court’s only opinion regarding the Alien Tort Statute, Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain, the Court unanimously agreed that although the first House of Representatives modified the Senate’s draft of what eventually became the Judiciary Act of 1789, it made hardly any changes to the provisions on aliens, including what became the ATS. The Court did not point out any of …