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Full-Text Articles in International Law
Kiobel And The Law Of Nations, Zachary D. Clopton
Kiobel And The Law Of Nations, Zachary D. Clopton
Cornell Law Faculty Publications
Since 1789, the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) has provided federal court jurisdiction for tort suits by aliens for violations of the law of nations. Though debate certainly exists about the method by which ATS-appropriate torts are identified, the Supreme Court has acknowledged that the substantive content of ATS causes of action is derived from the law of nations. In Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., the Supreme Court justices addressed not the substance of ATS cases but the reach of that statute.
At least at the time of the Judiciary Act of 1789, the law of nations included not only …