Law Commons^™

The Alien Tort Claims Act: Temporary Stopgap Measure Or Permanent Remedy, Borchien Lai

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

As the world has become smaller through technological advances in travel and communication, the international marketplace has grown larger. The United Nations ("U.N.") estimates that the number of multinational corporations tripled between 1988 and 1997 to 60,000. As these corporations increase their investments abroad, they also face proportionately increasing pressure from investors to run successful operations and increase profits. The result of this dynamic is well-documented. Multinational corporations invest heavily in underdeveloped countries where natural resources are abundant and labor is cheap. To facilitate operations in the country, the corporations must establish a rapport with the host governments-and often, in …

Beyond The Alien Tort Claims Act: Alternative Approaches To Attributing Liability To Corporations For Extraterritorial Abuses, Barnali Choudhury

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

At one time, the only social responsibility of a business was to increase its profits. During this period, businesses prized dictatorships for their ability to provide stable environments and consumers were not concerned with either where or by whom the shoes they wore were made. However, the increase in globalization changed perceptions. Multinational corporations ("MNCs") began to benefit immensely from globalization and those outside of the MNC environment started to realize that an MNC's profit gains brought about a corresponding responsibility to manage any adverse effects of producing those gains . Suddenly, a company's success was measured by factors other …

Flores V. Southern Peru Copper Corporation: The Second Circuit Fails To Set A Threshold For Corporate Alien Tort Claims Act Liability, Lori Delaney

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

The Second and Ninth Circuit Courts have recently heard cases dealing with the application of the Alien Tort Claim Act (ATCA) against private, U.S. based multinational corporations (MNCs), and come to differing conclusions on the standards that should be used in applying this complicated law to suits by foreign nationals against U.S. based MNCs. The issue of private corporate liability under the ATCA was not definitively resolved by the Supreme Court in its recent decision in Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain , and thus the Circuits must continue to grapple with the application of the ATCA to U.S. based MNCs.

The Second …

African Private Security Companies And The Alien Tort Claims Act: Could Multinational Oil And Mining Companies Be Liable?, Jennifer L. Heil

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

This paper focuses specifically on the possible liability under the ATCA of multinational oil and mining companies operating in Africa. First, it will examine the relationships between the multinational oil and mining companies, private security forces and African governments. In doing so, it will describe the actual activities and operations of the private security forces in conjunction with the oil and mining corhpanies. Second, this paper will outline the elements of liability under the ATCA. This will include a discussion of recent cases in which foreign nationals have sued multinational companies in the United States for alleged human rights abuses …