View source for Alien Tort Statute

{{Short description|US legislation}}
{{Use American English|date=June 2025}}
{{Infobox U.S. legislation
| shorttitle        = Alien Tort Statute
| othershorttitles  = Alien Tort Claims Act
| enacted by        = 1st
| effective date    =  
| cite statutes at large = {{USStat|1|73}}
| sections created = {{USC|28|1350}} 
| signedpresident = [[George Washington]]
| signeddate      = September 24, 1789
| amendments      = 
| SCOTUS cases    = {{ubli|''[[Argentine Republic v. Amerada Hess Shipping Corp.]]'', {{ussc|488|428|1989}}|''[[Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain]]'', {{ussc|542|692|2004}}|''[[Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co.]]'', {{ussc|569|108|2013}}|''[[Jesner v. Arab Bank, PLC]]'', {{ussc|docket=16-499|584|241|2018}}|''[[Nestlé USA, Inc. v. Doe]]'', {{ussc|docket=19-416|593|628|2021}}}}
}}

The '''Alien Tort Statute''' ([[Codification (law)|codified]] into [[positive law]] in 1948 as {{UnitedStatesCode|28|1350}}; '''ATS'''), also called the '''Alien Tort Claims Act''' ('''ATCA'''), is a section in the [[United States Code]] that gives [[Federal judiciary of the United States|federal courts]] jurisdiction over [[lawsuit]]s filed by foreign nationals for [[tort]]s committed in violation of [[international law]]. It was first introduced by the [[Judiciary Act of 1789]] and is one of the oldest federal laws still in effect in the U.S.

The ATS was rarely cited for nearly two centuries after its enactment, and its exact purpose and scope remain debated.<ref name=":1">{{cite report |first=Stephen P. |last=Mulligan |url=https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/LSB10147.pdf |title=The Rise and Decline of the Alien Tort Statute |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201119162604/https://fas.org/sgp/crs/misc/LSB10147.pdf |archive-date=2020-11-19 |publisher=Congressional Research Service |date=June 6, 2018 |id=LSB10147}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite journal |title=Looking Without and Looking Within: Nestlé v. Doe and the Legacy of the Alien Tort Statute |journal=ASIL Insights |publisher=American Society of International Law |volume=25 |issue=12 |first1=Kayla |last1=Winarsky Green |first2=Timothy |last2=McKenzie |date=July 15, 2021 |url=https://www.asil.org/insights/volume/25/issue/12|access-date=2025-04-08|language=en|archive-date=2021-07-15|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210715190459/https://www.asil.org/insights/volume/25/issue/12|url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Supreme Court of the United States|U.S. Supreme Court]] has interpreted the Act's primary purpose as "[promoting] harmony in international relations by ensuring foreign plaintiffs a remedy for international-law violations in circumstances where the absence of such a remedy might provoke foreign nations to hold the United States accountable."<ref name="Jesner">{{ussc|name=Jesner v. Arab Bank, PLC|volume=584|page=241|year=2018|docket=16-499}}.</ref>

Since 1980, courts have generally interpreted the ATS to allow foreign nationals to seek remedies in U.S. courts for [[human rights]] violations committed outside the United States, provided there is a sufficient connection to the United States.<ref>{{cite report|last1=Mulligan|first1=Stephen P.|url=https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44947/4|title=The Alien Tort Statute (ATS): A Primer|date=June 1, 2018|publisher=Congressional Research Service|location=Washington, DC|access-date=16 November 2018|archive-date=16 November 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181116131903/https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/R/R44947/4|url-status=live |id=R44947}}</ref> Both [[Precedent|case law]] and [[jurisprudence]] differ on what characterizes a sufficient U.S. connection, particularly with respect to corporate entities.<ref name=":2" />

==Text==
The statute reads as follows:

{{blockquote|The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States.<ref>{{USC|28|1350}}.</ref>}}

==History==
The ATS was part of the [[Judiciary Act of 1789]], which was passed by the [[First United States Congress|First U.S. Congress]] to establish the [[Federal judiciary of the United States|federal court system]].<ref>Ch. 20, § 9, 1 Stat. 73 (1789).</ref> There is little surviving [[legislative history]] regarding the Act, and its original meaning and purpose are uncertain.<ref>{{Bluebook journal | first=Carolyn A. | last=D'Amore| title=Note, ''Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain'' and the Alien Tort Statute: How Wide Has the Door to Human Rights Litigation Been Left Open? | volume=39 | journal=Akron L. Rev. | page=593 | pin=596 | url=https://ideaexchange.uakron.edu/akronlawreview/vol39/iss2/7/ | year=2006}}; {{Bluebook journal | first=William R. | last=Casto | title=The Federal Courts' Protective Jurisdiction Over Torts Committed in Violation of the Law of Nations | volume=18 | journal=Conn. L. Rev. | page=467 | pin=468-69 | url=https://ttu-ir.tdl.org/handle/10601/1559 | year=1986}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hlrecord.org/news/debate-did-founders-want-u-s-courts-to-look-abroad-for-monsters-to-destroy-1.937204 |title=Debate: Did Founders want U.S. Courts to look abroad for monsters to destroy? - News - the Harvard Law Record - Harvard University Law School |access-date=2009-11-20 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20110929214220/http://www.hlrecord.org/news/debate-did-founders-want-u-s-courts-to-look-abroad-for-monsters-to-destroy-1.937204 |archive-date=September 29, 2011 }}.</ref> Scholars have surmised that it was intended to assure foreign governments that the U.S. would seek to prevent and remedy breaches of customary international law, especially breaches concerning diplomats and merchants.<ref name=Hufbauer>Hufbauer, Gary Clyde; Mitrokostas, Nicholas K. (2003).  ''Awakening Monster: The Alien Tort Statute of 1789''. Washington, D.C.:  [[Institute for International Economics]]. {{ISBN|978-0-88132-366-5}}.</ref>

The ATS may have been enacted in response to a number of international incidents caused by the unavailability of remedies for foreign citizens in the U.S.<ref>{{Bluebook journal | first=John | last=Haberstroh| title=The Alien Tort Claims Act & Doe v. Unocal: A Paquete Habana Approach to the Rescue | volume=32 | journal=Denv. J. Int'l L. & Pol'y | page=231 | pin=239-41 | url=https://digitalcommons.du.edu/djilp/vol32/iss2/4/ | year=2004}}</ref> The [[Treaty of Paris (1783)|peace treaty]] ending the [[American Revolution|American Revolutionary War]] provided for the satisfaction of debts to British creditors, but several states refused to enforce the payment of such debts, prompting threats of retaliation by Great Britain.<ref group="note">The controversy culminated in the 1796 U.S. Supreme Court case ''[[Ware v. Hylton]]'', which concluded that the treaty's obligations superseded conflicting state law.</ref> In 1784, French diplomat [[François Barbé-Marbois]] was assaulted in Philadelphia, but no legal remedy was available to him, as any prosecution was left to the discretion of local authorities.<ref name=":1" /> The incident was notorious internationally and prompted Congress to draft a resolution asking states to allow suits in tort for the violation of the law of nations; few states enacted such a provision, and Congress subsequently included the ATS in the Judiciary Act of 1789.

However, until 1980 the ATS remained largely dormant, being invoked in only two reported court decisions.<ref name=Hufbauer2>{{Bluebook journal | first=Gary Clyde | last=Hufbauer | first2=Nicholas K.| last2=Mitrokostas | title=International Implications of the Alien Tort Statute | volume=16 | journal=St. Thomas L. Rev. | page=607 | pin=609 | url= | year=2004}}</ref>

===Revitalization: ''Filártiga v. Peña-Irala''===
{{Main|Filártiga v. Peña-Irala}}
In 1980, the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit|U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit]] decided ''[[Filártiga v. Peña-Irala]]'', which "paved the way for a new conceptualization of the ATS".<ref name=Hufbauer2/> In ''Filartiga'', two Paraguayan citizens resident in the U.S., represented by the [[Center for Constitutional Rights]], brought suit against a Paraguayan former police chief who was also living in the United States.<ref>''[[Filártiga v. Peña-Irala]]'', [https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/630/876/238132/ 630 F.2d 876] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210127191421/https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/630/876/238132/ |date=2021-01-27 }} ([[2d Cir.]] 1980); {{Bluebook journal | first=Richard B. | last=Lillich | title=Invoking International Human Rights Law in Domestic Courts | volume=54 | journal=U. Cin. L. Rev. | page=367 | pin=| url= | year=1985}}</ref> The plaintiffs alleged that the defendant had tortured and murdered a member of their family, and they asserted that U.S. federal courts had jurisdiction over their suit under the ATS. The district court dismissed for lack of [[subject-matter jurisdiction]], holding that the "law of nations" does not regulate a state's treatment of its own citizens.

The [[United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit|Second Circuit]] reversed the decision of the district court. First, it held that the ATS, which allowed jurisdiction in the federal courts over a suit between two aliens, was a constitutional exercise of Congress's power, because "the law of nations&nbsp;... has always been part of the federal [[common law]]", and thus the statute fell within [[federal-question jurisdiction]].<ref>''Filartiga'', 630 F.2d at 885.</ref> Second, the court held that the contemporary law of nations had expanded to prohibit state-sanctioned torture. The court found that multilateral treaties and domestic prohibitions on [[torture]] evidenced a consistent state practice of proscribing official torture. The court similarly found that [[United Nations]] declarations, such as the [[Universal Declaration on Human Rights]], manifested an expectation of adherence to the prohibition of official torture. The court therefore held that the right to be free from torture had become a principle of customary [[international law]]. However, one of the judges on the panel hearing the case later wrote that ''Filartiga'' "should not be misread or exaggerated to support sweeping assertions that all (or even most) international human rights norms found in the Universal Declaration or in international human rights treaties have ripened into customary international law enforceable in the domestic courts".<ref>Lillich, ''supra'' note 8, at 401–02.</ref>

Since ''Filartiga'', jurisdiction under the ATS has been upheld in dozens of cases.<ref>{{Bluebook journal | first=Beth | last=Stephens | title=Judicial Deference and the Unreasonable Views of the Bush Administration | volume=33 | journal=Brooklyn J. Int'l L. | page=773 | pin=813 | url=https://brooklynworks.brooklaw.edu/bjil/vol33/iss3/1/ | year=2008}}</ref>

===First U.S. Supreme Court hearing: ''Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain''===
{{main|Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain}}
The first [[United States Supreme Court|U.S. Supreme Court]] case to directly address the scope of the ATS was ''[[Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain]]'' in 2004.<ref name=Sosa/> The plaintiff, Alvarez, brought a claim under ATS for [[arbitrary arrest and detention]]. He had been indicted in the United States for torturing and murdering a [[Drug Enforcement Administration]] officer. When the United States was unable to secure Alvarez's extradition, the United States paid Sosa, a Mexican national, to kidnap Alvarez and bring him into the U.S. Alvarez claimed that his "arrest" by Sosa was arbitrary because the warrant for his arrest only authorized his arrest within the U.S. The [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit|U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]] held that Alvarez's abduction constituted arbitrary arrest in violation of international law.

The Supreme Court reversed and clarified that ATS did not create a cause of action, but instead merely "furnish[ed] jurisdiction for a relatively modest set of actions alleging violations of the law of nations."<ref name=Sosa>{{ussc|name=Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain|volume=542|page=692|pin=720|year=2004}}.</ref> Such actions must "rest on a norm of international character accepted by the civilized world and defined with a specificity comparable to the features of the 18th-century paradigms we have recognized."<ref>''Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain'' at 725; ''see also'' {{Bluebook journal | first=Pamela J.| last=Stephens| title=Spinning Sosa:  Federal Common Law, the Alien Tort Statute, and Judicial Restraint | volume=111 | journal=B.U. Int'l L.J. | page=1 | pin=32-33 | url=https://www.bu.edu/law/journals-archive/international/volume25n1/documents/1-36.pdf | year=2007}}</ref> Although the scope of ATS is not limited to violations of international law recognized in the 18th century, with respect to recognizing contemporary international norms, the Court's opinion stated that "the judicial power should be exercised on the understanding that the door is still ajar subject to vigilant doorkeeping."<ref>''Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain'', 542 U.S. at 729.</ref>

In Alvarez's case, "a single illegal detention of less than a day, followed by the transfer of custody to lawful authorities and a prompt arraignment, violates no norm of customary international law so well defined as to support the creation of a federal remedy."<ref>''Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain'' at 738.</ref>

===Ongoing controversy===
Exercising legal jurisdiction in the United States over matters that occurred abroad is a controversial practice and some have suggested that [[United States Congress|Congress]] eliminate it.<ref>{{cite news |title=Rights Case Gone Wrong |date=2009-04-19 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/17/AR2009041702859.html |author=Bradley, Curtis A. |author2=Goldsmith, Jack L. |author2-link=Jack Goldsmith |access-date=April 23, 2010 |archive-date=2011-03-05 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110305084604/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/17/AR2009041702859.html |url-status=live }}</ref> Others believe that a multilateral solution, including through either the [[Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development]] or the UN, would be more appropriate.<ref>{{cite news | title=Trying an Old Law | date=June 1, 2009 | work=[[The New York Times]] | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/02/opinion/02iht-edmedish.html?ref=global | first1=Mark C. | last1=Medish | first2=Daniel R. | last2=Lucich | access-date=April 23, 2010 | archive-date=December 14, 2018 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181214132128/https://www.nytimes.com/2009/06/02/opinion/02iht-edmedish.html?ref=global | url-status=live }}</ref>

==Scope of the statute==

==="Violation of the law of nations"===
The Supreme Court held in ''[[Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain]]'' that the ATS provides a cause of action for violations of international norms that are as "specific, universal, and obligatory" as were the norms prohibiting violations of safe conducts, infringements of the rights of ambassadors, and piracy in the 18th century.<ref>D'Amore, ''supra'' note 2.</ref> Courts have found matters actionable under the ATS to include [[torture]]; cruel, [[inhuman, or degrading treatment]]; [[genocide]]; [[war crimes]]; [[crimes against humanity]]; [[summary execution]]; prolonged [[arbitrary detention]]; and [[forced disappearance]].<ref>Pamela J. Stephens, ''supra'' note 10, at 5.</ref>

Since ''Sosa'', courts have struggled to define the level of specificity required for a norm to be actionable under the ATS.<ref>{{cite book |first=Henry J. |last=Steiner |display-authors=etal |title=International Human Rights in Context |pages=1195–1198 |edition=3rd |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-19-927942-5}}</ref> For example, subsequent to ''Sosa'', the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit|U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit]] overturned prior lower-court decisions that had found cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment actionable, noting that ''Sosa'' repudiated the [[International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights]] as a source of law under the ATS.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Aldana v. Del Monte Fresh Produce |vol=416 |reporter=F.3d |opinion=1242 |pinpoint=1247 |court=[[11th Cir.]] |date=2005 |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/416/1242/480957/ |access-date=2021-01-18 }}</ref> Similarly, courts have held that [[ICESCR|economic, social, and cultural rights]] are too indeterminate to satisfy ''Sosa''{{'s}} specificity requirement.  For example, in ''Flores v. Southern Peru Copper Corp.'', the Second Circuit stated that the rights to life and to health are too indeterminate to constitute a cause of action under the ATS.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Flores v. Southern Peru Copper Corp. |vol=414 |reporter=F.3d |opinion=233 |court=[[2d Cir.]] |date=2003 |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/414/233/622157/ |access-date=2021-01-18 }}</ref>

The [[United States District Court for the Northern District of California|U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California]], however, has held that the limits of a norm need not be defined with particularity to be actionable; rather, the norm need only be so defined that the particular acts upon which a claim is based certainly fall within the bounds of the norm.<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Doe v. Qi |vol=349 |reporter=F. Supp. 2d |opinion=1258 |court=[[N.D. Cal.]] |date=2004 |url=https://www.leagle.com/decision/20041607349fsupp2d125811494 |access-date=2021-01-18 }}</ref> In ''Doe v. Qi'', the court stated, "The fact that there may be doubt at the margins{{spaced ndash}}a fact that inheres in any definition{{spaced ndash}}does not negate the essence and application of that definition in clear cases." The court also described how to determine whether specific actions fall within the proscriptions of an international norm, holding that the actions alleged should be compared with actions that international adjudicatory bodies have found to be proscribed by the norm in question. It therefore examined decisions by institutions such as the [[Human Rights Committee]], the [[European Court of Human Rights]], and the [[African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights]] to determine that pushing, hitting, and choking a plaintiff during one day of incarceration did not constitute cruel, unusual, or degrading treatment, whereas forcing a hand into a plaintiff's vagina did constitute cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment.

===Corporate liability under the statute===
In 2011, there was a [[circuit split]] regarding whether corporations, as opposed to natural people, could be held liable under the ATS. In 2010 the Second Circuit Court of Appeals held in ''[[Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co.]]'' that "customary international law has steadfastly rejected the notion of corporate liability for international crimes" and thus that "insofar as plaintiffs bring claims under the ATS against corporations, plaintiffs fail to allege violations of the law of nations, and plaintiffs' claims fall outside the limited jurisdiction provided by the ATS".<ref name=Kiobel2d>{{cite court |litigants=Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. |vol=621 |reporter=F.3d |opinion=111 |pinpoint=120 |court=[[2d Cir.]] |date=2010 |url=https://www.leagle.com/decision/infco20100917072 |access-date=2021-01-18 }}</ref> However, [[United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit|the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals]],<ref>{{cite court |litigants=Flomo v. Firestone Nat. Rubber Co., LLC |vol=643 |reporter=F.3d |opinion=1013 |pinpoint=1021 |court=[[7th Cir.]] |date=2011 |url=https://www.leagle.com/decision/infco20110711083 |access-date=2021-01-18 }}</ref> the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals,<ref>{{Cite court |url=http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2011/10/25/02-56256.pdf |litigants=Sarei et al v. Rio Tinto |vol=671 |reporter=F.3d |opinion=736 |court=[[9th Cir.]] |date=2011 |access-date=2011-10-30 |archive-date=2011-10-26 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111026021745/http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2011/10/25/02-56256.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> and the [[United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit|D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals]] all ruled that [[corporate liability]] is possible under the statute.<ref>''Doe VIII v. Exxon Mobil Corp.'', No. 09-7125 (D.C. Cir. 2011).</ref>

The U.S. Supreme Court granted ''[[certiorari]]'' on October 17, 2011, to answer the question of corporate liability. After arguments on February 28, 2012, the Court ordered the case to be reargued the following term on the separate question of extraterritoriality.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/kiobel-v-royal-dutch-petroleum/|title=Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum |work=SCOTUSblog|access-date=2018-04-29|language=en-US|archive-date=2018-04-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180426060701/http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/kiobel-v-royal-dutch-petroleum/|url-status=live}}</ref> On April 17, 2013, in ''Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co.'', the Court issued a decision affirming the Second Circuit's decision, but on different grounds, holding that the ATS did not create jurisdiction for a claim regarding conduct occurring outside the territory of the United States, leaving the question of corporate liability unresolved.

In ''[[Jesner v. Arab Bank, PLC]]'', the Supreme Court again revisited the question of corporate liability and ruled that foreign corporations may not be sued under the ATS.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url=http://www.scotusblog.com/2018/04/opinion-analysis-court-bars-lawsuits-against-foreign-corporations-under-alien-tort-statute/|title=Opinion analysis: Court bars lawsuits against foreign corporations under Alien Tort Statute |date=2018-04-24|work=SCOTUSblog|access-date=2018-04-26|language=en-US|archive-date=2018-04-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180425161241/http://www.scotusblog.com/2018/04/opinion-analysis-court-bars-lawsuits-against-foreign-corporations-under-alien-tort-statute/|url-status=live}}</ref> However, the only parts of the opinion that commanded a majority of the court expressly limited its holding to suits against {{em|foreign}} corporations. The concurring opinions by Justices [[Samuel Alito|Alito]] and [[Neil Gorsuch|Gorsuch]] focused on foreign relations concerns with foreign corporations. Justice Alito expressly limited his concurrence to foreign corporations: "Because this case involves a foreign corporation, we have no need to reach the question whether an alien may sue a United States corporation under the ATS."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/16-499_1a7d.pdf|title=Jesner v. Arab Bank, PLC, 584 U.S. 241, No. 16-499, at 3 (2018) (Alito, J., concurring)|access-date=2018-05-28|archive-date=2018-05-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517201039/https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/16-499_1a7d.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Because the majority opinion was limited to foreign corporations, it is possible that ''Jesner'' does not settle the question of corporate liability for U.S. corporations.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.justsecurity.org/55404/jesner-v-arab-bank-supreme-court-preserves-possibility-human-rights-suits-u-s-corporations/|title=Jesner v. Arab Bank: The Supreme Court Preserves the Possibility of Human Rights Suits Against U.S. Corporations|date=2018-04-26|work=Just Security|access-date=2018-05-28|language=en-US|archive-date=2018-05-29|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180529054122/https://www.justsecurity.org/55404/jesner-v-arab-bank-supreme-court-preserves-possibility-human-rights-suits-u-s-corporations/|url-status=live}}</ref>

==Prominent cases under the statute==
{{see also|Rasul v. Bush|Daimler AG v. Bauman|Argentine Republic v. Amerada Hess}}

===''Doe v. Unocal''===
{{main|Doe v. Unocal}}

In September 1996, four [[Burma|Burmese]] villagers filed suit against [[Unocal]] and its parent company, the Union Oil Company of California; in October 1996, another fourteen villagers also brought suit.<ref>{{cite court|litigants=Doe I v. Unocal Corp.|court=[[9th Cir.]]|reporter=F.3d|vol=395|opinion=932|pinpoint=942-43|date=2002|url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F3/395/932/642537/|access-date=2021-01-18Da}}</ref> The suits alleged various human rights violations, including forced labor, wrongful death, false imprisonment, assault, intentional infliction of emotional distress and negligence, all relating to the construction of the [[Yadana Project|Yadana gas pipeline project]] in [[Myanmar]], formerly Burma.

In 2000, the district court dismissed the case on the grounds that Unocal could not be held liable unless Unocal wanted the military to commit abuses, and that plaintiffs had not made this showing. Plaintiffs appealed and ultimately, shortly prior to when the case was to be argued before the Ninth Circuit ''en banc'' court in December 2004, the parties announced that they had reached a tentative settlement. Once the settlement was finalized in March 2005, the appeal was withdrawn and the district court opinion from 2000 was also vacated.

According to a joint statement released by the parties, while the specific terms were confidential, "the settlement will compensate plaintiffs and provide funds enabling plaintiffs and their representatives to develop programs to improve living conditions, health care and education and protect the rights of people from the pipeline region. These initiatives will provide substantial assistance to people who may have suffered hardships in the region."<ref>{{cite web|publisher=EarthRights International |title=Final Settlement Reached in Doe v. Unocal|url=http://www.earthrights.org/legalfeature/final_settlement_reached_in_doe_v._unocal.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090715025607/http://www.earthrights.org/legalfeature/final_settlement_reached_in_doe_v._unocal.html|archive-date=2009-07-15|access-date=2012-10-04}}</ref>

=== ''Jesner v. Arab Bank, PLC'' ===
{{main|Jesner v. Arab Bank, PLC}}
On April 3, 2017, the Supreme Court agreed to hear the case ''Jesner v. Arab Bank, PLC'', which asks the question: "Whether the Alien Tort Statute&nbsp;... categorically forecloses corporate liability".<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/jesner-v-arab-bank-plc/|title=Jesner v. Arab Bank, PLC |work=SCOTUSblog|access-date=2017-04-03|language=en-US|archive-date=2017-04-04|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170404215501/http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/jesner-v-arab-bank-plc/|url-status=live}}</ref> The case arose when plaintiffs and their families were injured by terrorist attacks in the [[Middle East]] over a ten-year period. American nationals brought their claim under the Anti-Terrorism Act, {{USCSub|18|2333|a}}, and foreign nationals brought their claim under the ATS. The plaintiffs alleged that Arab Bank helped finance terrorism by allowing Hamas and other terrorist groups to use bank accounts for terrorists and to pay the families of suicide bombers.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jesner v. Arab Bank, 584 U.S. 241, No. 16-499, slip op. at 3 (2018) |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/16-499_1a7d.pdf |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517201039/https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/16-499_1a7d.pdf |archive-date=2018-05-17 |access-date=2018-05-28}}</ref>

The District Court, following the Second Circuit decision in ''Kiobel'' that corporations are immune from liability under the ATS, dismissed the ATS suit. The Second Circuit, also adhering to ''Kiobel'', affirmed.<ref>Jesner, at 5.</ref>

On April 24, 2018, the Supreme Court ruled that foreign corporations may not be sued under the Alien Tort Statute.<ref name=":0" /> Justice [[Anthony Kennedy|Kennedy]] wrote for a splintered majority. In the majority opinion, the Court expressed its concern for foreign relations problems if the Court were to extend liability to foreign corporations. "For 13 years, this litigation has 'caused significant diplomatic tensions' with Jordan, a critical ally in one of the world's most sensitive regions&nbsp;... These are the very foreign-relations tensions the First Congress sought to avoid."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/16-499_1a7d.pdf|title=Jesner, at 26 |access-date=2018-05-28|archive-date=2018-05-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517201039/https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/16-499_1a7d.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> Justices [[Clarence Thomas|Thomas]], Alito, and Gorsuch concurred.

Justice [[Sonia Sotomayor|Sotomayor]] wrote a 34-page dissent, arguing the decision "absolves corporations from responsibility under the ATS for conscience-shocking behavior".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/16-499_1a7d.pdf|title=Jesner, at 1 (Sotomayor, J., dissenting) |access-date=2018-05-28|archive-date=2018-05-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517201039/https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/16-499_1a7d.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref> According to Sotomayor, immunizing corporations from liability "allows these entities to take advantage of the significant benefits of the corporate form and enjoy fundamental rights&nbsp;... without having to shoulder attendant fundamental responsibilities."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/16-499_1a7d.pdf|title=Jesner, at 34 (Sotomayor, J., dissenting).|access-date=2018-05-28|archive-date=2018-05-17|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180517201039/https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/17pdf/16-499_1a7d.pdf|url-status=live}}</ref>

===''Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum''===
{{Main|Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum}}
The plaintiffs in ''Kiobel'' were citizens of [[Nigeria]] who claimed that Dutch, British, and Nigerian oil-exploration corporations aided and abetted the Nigerian government during the 1990s in committing violations of customary international law.<ref name=Kiobel2d/> The plaintiffs claimed that [[Royal Dutch Shell]] compelled its Nigerian subsidiary, in cooperation with the [[Nigerian government]], to brutally crush peaceful resistance to aggressive oil development in the <!--[[Ogoni]] – not a region--> [[Niger River Delta]].<ref name="[[Suffolk Transnational Law Review]]">{{cite web | last = Kearney | first = Colin | title = Corporate Liability Claims Not Actionable Under Alien Tort Statute | url = https://www.dropbox.com/s/hcp3q8ia71l4acr/Corporate%20Liability%20Claims%20Not%20Actionable%20Under%20Alien%20Tort%20Statute.pdf | date = January 1, 2011 | access-date = January 3, 2013 | work = [[Suffolk Transnational Law Review]]}}</ref> Plaintiffs sought damages under the ATS. The defendants moved to dismiss based on a two-pronged argument. First, they argued that customary international law itself provides the rules by which to decide whether conduct violates the law of nations where non-state actors are alleged to have committed the wrong in question. Second, they contended that no norm has ever existed between nations that imposes liability upon corporate actors. On September 29, 2006, the district court dismissed the plaintiffs' claims for [[aiding and abetting]] property destruction; forced exile; [[extrajudicial killing]]; and violation of the rights to life, liberty, security, and association. It reasoned that customary international law did not define those violations with sufficient particularity. The court denied the defendants' motion to dismiss with respect to the remaining claims of aiding and abetting arbitrary arrest and detention; crimes against humanity; and torture or cruel, [[inhuman or degrading treatment|inhuman, and degrading treatment]]. The district court then certified its entire order for interlocutory appeal to the Second Circuit based on the serious nature of the questions at issue.

In a 2–1 decision issued on September 17, 2010, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit held that corporations cannot be held liable for violations of customary international law, finding that: (1) under both U.S. Supreme Court and Second Circuit precedents over the previous 30 years that address ATS suits alleging violations of customary international law, the scope of liability is determined by customary international law itself; (2) under Supreme Court precedent, the ATS requires courts to apply norms of international law—and not domestic law—to the scope of defendants' liabilities. Such norms must be "specific, universal and obligatory"; and (3) under international law, "corporate liability is not a discernible—much less a universally recognized—norm of customary international law",<ref name=Kiobel2d/><ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ben-kerschberg/corporate-executives-get-_b_791292.html# | work=[[Huffington Post]] | first=Ben | last=Kerschberg | title=Corporate Executives: Get Ready for a Billion Dollar Lawsuit | date=December 2, 2010 | access-date=March 5, 2012 | archive-date=January 8, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120108045507/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ben-kerschberg/corporate-executives-get-_b_791292.html | url-status=live }}</ref> that the court could apply to the ATS, and that the plaintiffs' ATS claims should indeed be dismissed for lack of subject matter jurisdiction.

Kiobel petitioned the Supreme Court for review of the Second Circuit's decision, and this was granted on October 17, 2011. Oral arguments were held on February 28, 2012,<ref>{{SCOTUSoralargument|10-1491|February 28, 2012}}</ref><ref name=scotusblog>{{cite web | last = Denniston | first = Lyle | author-link = Lyle Denniston | title = Court To Rule on Suing Corporations and PLO | url = http://www.scotusblog.com/2011/10/court-to-rule-on-suing-corporations/ | date = October 17, 2011 | access-date = October 16, 2011 | work = [[SCOTUSblog]] | archive-date = October 19, 2011 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111019182641/http://www.scotusblog.com/2011/10/court-to-rule-on-suing-corporations | url-status = live }}</ref>  The arguments received considerable attention in the legal community.<ref name=slate>{{cite web | last = Lithwick | first = Dahlia | author-link = Dahlia Lithwick | title = Justice on the High Seas: The Supreme Court Says Corporations Have a Right to Free Speech. But Can They Get Away with Murder? | url = http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/supreme_court_dispatches/2012/02/the_supreme_court_considers_whether_royal_dutch_shell_is_immune_from_liability_for_human_rights_abuses_because_it_is_a_corporation_.html | date = February 28, 2012 | access-date = February 29, 2012 | work = [[Slate (magazine)|Slate]] | archive-date = February 29, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120229012958/http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/supreme_court_dispatches/2012/02/the_supreme_court_considers_whether_royal_dutch_shell_is_immune_from_liability_for_human_rights_abuses_because_it_is_a_corporation_.html | url-status = live }}</ref><ref name=guardian>{{cite web | last = Weiss | first = Peter | author-link = Peter Weiss (writer) | title = The Question Before the US Supreme Court in Kiobel v Shell – If Corporations Have the Same Rights as People To Make Political Donations, Then Surely They Also Have Human Rights Obligations? | url = https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/feb/28/question-before-supreme-court-kiobel-v-shell | date = February 28, 2012 | access-date = March 5, 2012 | work = [[The Guardian]] | archive-date = April 4, 2015 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150404000149/http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/cifamerica/2012/feb/28/question-before-supreme-court-kiobel-v-shell | url-status = live }}</ref> Unexpectedly, the Court announced on March 5, 2012, that it would hold additional arguments on the case during the October 2012 term, and directed the parties to file new briefs on the question "Whether and under what circumstances the Alien Tort Statute&nbsp;... allows courts to recognize a cause of action for violations of the law of nations occurring within the territory of a sovereign other than the United States."<ref>{{cite web | last = Denniston |first=Lyle | author-link = Lyle Denniston | work = SCOTUSblog | url = http://www.scotusblog.com/2012/03/kiobel-to-be-reargued/ | title = Kiobel To Be Reargued | date = March 5, 2012 | access-date = March 5, 2012 | archive-date = March 9, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120309003021/http://www.scotusblog.com/2012/03/kiobel-to-be-reargued | url-status = live }}</ref> The case was reargued on October 1, 2012; on April 17, 2013, the Court held that there is a presumption that the ATS does not apply outside the United States.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/kiobel-v-royal-dutch-petroleum/?wpmp_switcher=desktop|title=Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum|work=SCOTUSblog|access-date=15 September 2015|archive-date=8 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150908083920/http://www.scotusblog.com/case-files/cases/kiobel-v-royal-dutch-petroleum/?wpmp_switcher=desktop|url-status=live}}</ref>

===''Sarei v. Rio Tinto''===
In 2000, residents of the island of [[Bougainville Island|Bougainville]] in [[Papua New Guinea]] brought suit against multinational mining company [[Rio Tinto (corporation)|Rio Tinto]]. The lawsuit is based on a [[Bougainville Civil War|1988 revolt]] against Rio Tinto, and the plaintiffs allege that the Papua New Guinea government, using Rio Tinto helicopters and vehicles, killed about 15,000 people in an effort to put down the revolt.<ref>{{cite news | url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/25/9th-circuit-corporations-sued-human-rights-violations-abroad_n_1031516.html | work=[[The Huffington Post]] | first=Mike | last=Sacks | title=9th Circuit: Corporations Can Be Sued for Human Rights Violations Abroad | date=October 25, 2011 | access-date=March 5, 2012 | archive-date=February 26, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120226224514/http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/10/25/9th-circuit-corporations-sued-human-rights-violations-abroad_n_1031516.html | url-status=live }}</ref> On October 25, 2011, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, sitting ''[[en banc]]'', issued a divided opinion holding that certain claims against a foreign corporation implicating the conduct of a foreign government on foreign soil could proceed under the ATS. The company filed a petitioned the Supreme Court for review of the decision; on April 22, 2013, the Supreme Court remanded the case back to the Ninth Circuit for further consideration in the light of its decision in ''Kiobel''.

===''Kpadeh v. Emmanuel''===
[[Charles McArther Emmanuel|Charles McArthur Emmanuel]] (also known as "Chuckie Taylor" or "Taylor Jr."), the son of former [[President of Liberia|Liberian president]] [[Charles Taylor (Liberia)|Charles Taylor]], was the commander of the infamously violent Anti-Terrorist Unit (ATU), commonly known in Liberia as the "Demon Forces".<ref name="CNN">{{dead link|date=March 2012}} [http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/09/30/taylor.torture.trial.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview "Ex-Prisoner: Taylor's Son Laughed at Torture"]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081218050420/http://www.cnn.com/2008/CRIME/09/30/taylor.torture.trial.ap/index.html?iref=mpstoryview |date=2008-12-18 }}. ''[[CNN]]''. September 30, 2008.</ref> In 2006, U.S. officials arrested Taylor upon entering the U.S. (via the [[Miami International Airport]]) and the Department of Justice later charged him based on torture he committed in [[Liberia]].<ref>{{cite news|title=Roy Belfast Jr. aka Chuckie Taylor Indicted on Torture Charges, Department of Justice|date=December 6, 2006|url= http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2006/December/06_crm_813.html|access-date= February 3, 2010|archive-date= September 1, 2009|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090901175847/http://justice.gov/opa/pr/2006/December/06_crm_813.html|url-status= live}}</ref> He was convicted of multiple counts of torture and conspiracy to torture<ref>{{cite news|title= Roy Belfast Jr. A/K/A Chuckie Taylor Convicted on Torture Charges, Department of Justice Press Release|date= October 30, 2008|url= http://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/2008/October/08-crm-971.html|access-date= February 3, 2010|archive-date= August 31, 2009|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20090831171136/http://justice.gov/opa/pr/2008/October/08-crm-971.html|url-status= live}}</ref> and was sentenced to 97 years in prison.<ref>{{cite news|title=Roy Belfast, Jr., A/K/A Chuckie Taylor, Sentenced on Torture Charges, Department of Justice Press Release|date= December 9, 2009|url= https://humanrightsusa.blogspot.com/2010/02/breaking-news-final-judgment-issued-in.html|access-date= August 4, 2010|archive-date= April 8, 2011|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110408055939/http://humanrightsusa.blogspot.com/2010/02/breaking-news-final-judgment-issued-in.html|url-status= live}}</ref> The World Organization for Human Rights USA and the [[Florida International University College of Law]] filed a civil suit in the Southern District of Florida on behalf of five of Taylor's victims pursuant to the Alien Tort Statute and the [[Torture Victim Protection Act]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.humanrightsusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=167&Itemid=150 |publisher=World Organization for Human Rights USA |title=Victims of Chuckie Taylor |access-date=2010-02-03 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612035307/http://www.humanrightsusa.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=167&Itemid=150 |archive-date=2010-06-12 }}</ref> The plaintiffs won by default judgment as to liability on all counts, and in February 2010, following trial on damages at which Taylor appeared, the court found Taylor liable to the plaintiffs for damages of over $22 million.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://humanrightsusa.blogspot.com/search/label/Chuckie%20Taylor|publisher=Human Rights USA |title=Chuckie Taylor|first=Theresa|last=Harris|access-date=17 February 2016|archive-date=8 January 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160108025817/http://humanrightsusa.blogspot.com/search/label/Chuckie%20Taylor|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>''Rufus Kpadeh et al. v. Charles McArthur Emmanuel'', No. 09-20050-civ (S.D. Fla. Feb. 5, 2010).</ref>

===''Presbyterian Church of Sudan v. Talisman Energy, Inc.''===
On October 2, 2009, the Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, in ''Presbyterian Church of Sudan v. Talisman Energy, Inc.'', held that "the [[mens rea]] standard for aiding and abetting liability in Alien Tort Statute actions is purpose rather than knowledge alone."<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/5ee8965d-efbf-475c-9c0d-de151c267061/1/doc/07-0016-cv_opn.pdf#xml=http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/5ee8965d-efbf-475c-9c0d-de151c267061/1/hilite/ |title=The Presbyterian Church of Sudan v. Talisman Energy, Inc. |date=October 2, 2009 |publisher= US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit |id=07-0016-cv |access-date=2009-10-28 |archive-date=2011-06-13 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613171625/http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/5ee8965d-efbf-475c-9c0d-de151c267061/1/doc/07-0016-cv_opn.pdf#xml=http://www.ca2.uscourts.gov/decisions/isysquery/5ee8965d-efbf-475c-9c0d-de151c267061/1/hilite/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> In this case—which involves allegations against a Canadian oil company concerning its purported assistance to the government in Sudan in the forced movement of civilians residing near oil facilities—the court concluded that "plaintiffs have not established Talisman's purposeful complicity in human rights abuses". In reaching that conclusion, the Second Circuit stated that "the standard for imposing accessorial liability under the Alien Tort Statute must be drawn from international law; and that under international law a claimant must show that the defendant provided substantial assistance with the purpose of facilitating the alleged offenses."

===''Sinaltrainal v. Coca-Cola Company''===
{{main|Sinaltrainal v. Coca-Cola Co.}}
On August 11, 2009, the Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit issued a decision in ''Sinaltrainal v. Coca-Cola Company''.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200615851.pdf |title=Sinaltrainal v. Coca-Cola Company |publisher=United States Court of Appeals, Eleventh Circuit |date=August 11, 2009 |access-date=2009-10-28 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110613100552/http://www.ca11.uscourts.gov/opinions/ops/200615851.pdf |archive-date=2011-06-13 }}</ref> In this case, plaintiffs alleged that [[The Coca-Cola Company|Coca-Cola]] bottlers in [[Colombia]] collaborated with Colombian paramilitary forces in "the systematic intimidation, kidnapping, detention, torture, and murder of Colombian trade unionists". However, the district court dismissed the complaint and the Eleventh Circuit upheld that ruling. In doing so, the Eleventh Circuit relied upon the Supreme Court's recent ''[[Ashcroft v. Iqbal]]'' decision<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/08pdf/07-1015.pdf |title=07-1015 Ashcroft v. Iqbal<!-- Bot generated title --> |date=May 18, 2009 |publisher=Supreme Court of the United States |access-date=2017-06-27 |archive-date=2017-05-19 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170519031733/https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/08pdf/07-1015.pdf |url-status=dead }}</ref> in addressing the adequacy of the complaint, which must have "facial plausibility" to survive dismissal, and noted that Rule 8 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure demands "more than an unadorned, the-defendant-unlawfully-harmed-me accusation". The Eleventh Circuit then applied the ''Iqbal'' standard to plaintiffs' allegations against Coca-Cola and held that they were insufficient to survive dismissal.

===''Bowoto v. Chevron Corp.''===
{{main|Bowoto v. Chevron Corp.}}
Nigerian villagers brought claims against [[Chevron Corporation]] regarding events that occurred on a Chevron offshore drilling platform in 1998, when Nigerian soldiers suppressed a protest against Chevron's environmental and business practices. The protesters, with the help of nonprofit organizations including the [[Center for Constitutional Rights]], the Public Interest Lawyers Group, and [[EarthRights International]], brought claims for wrongful death, torture, assault, battery, and negligence against Chevron, alleging that the company had paid the soldiers that landed on the platform and were therefore liable for the actions that they took. In December 2008, a jury found that Chevron was not liable.<ref>{{cite news | author = Reddall, Braden | url = https://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE4B093N20081202 | work = Reuters | title = Jury Clears Chevron of Charges in Nigeria Clash | date = December 1, 2008 | access-date = March 5, 2012 | archive-date = January 18, 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20210118181828/https://www.reuters.com/article/ousiv/idUSTRE4B093N20081202 | url-status = live }}</ref>

===''Wang Xiaoning v. Yahoo!''===
{{main|Xiaoning et al v. Yahoo! Inc, et al}}
In 2007, the [[World Organization for Human Rights]] USA filed a lawsuit against [[Yahoo!]] on behalf of Chinese dissidents [[Wang Xiaoning]] and [[Shi Tao (journalist)|Shi Tao]] (his mother Gao Qinsheng), claiming jurisdiction under the ATS.<ref>{{cite news|title= Second Amended Complaint|url= http://www.humanrightsusa.org/index2.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=68&Itemid=80|access-date= 2010-02-03|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20110408061713/http://www.humanrightsusa.org/index2.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=68&Itemid=80|archive-date= 2011-04-08|url-status= dead}}</ref> According to the complaint, Wang and Shi Tao used Yahoo! accounts to share pro-democracy material, and a Chinese subsidiary of Yahoo! gave the Chinese government identifying information that allowed authorities to identify and arrest them.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Cha |first1=Ariana Eunjung |last2=Diaz |first2=Sam |title=Advocates Sue Yahoo in Chinese Torture Case |date=April 19, 2007 |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041802510.html?hpid=moreheadlines |access-date=March 5, 2012 |archive-date=March 4, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180304052145/http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/04/18/AR2007041802510.html?hpid=moreheadlines |url-status=live }}</ref> The Complaint alleged that the plaintiffs were subjected to "torture, cruel, inhuman, or other degrading treatment or punishment, arbitrary arrest and prolonged detention, and forced labor".<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.humanrightsusa.org/index2.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=68&Itemid=80 |title=Wang et al v. Yahoo! |access-date=2010-02-03 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110408061713/http://www.humanrightsusa.org/index2.php?option=com_docman&task=doc_view&gid=68&Itemid=80 |archive-date=2011-04-08 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Yahoo! settled the case in November 2007 for an undisclosed amount of money, and it agreed to cover the plaintiff's legal costs as a part of the settlement. In a statement released after the settlement was made public, Yahoo! said that it would "provide 'financial, humanitarian and legal support to these families' and create a separate 'humanitarian relief fund' for other dissidents and their families".<ref>{{cite magazine | last = Perez |first=Juan Carlos | title = Yahoo Settles Chinese Dissident Lawsuit | date = November 14, 2007 | publisher = [[IDG news|IDG News]] | magazine = [[PC World (magazine)|PC World]] | url = http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,139619-c,yahoo/article.html | access-date = March 5, 2012 | archive-date = May 3, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080503035743/http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,139619-c,yahoo/article.html | url-status = live }}</ref>

=== ''Nestlé USA, Inc. v. Doe'' ===
{{main|Nestlé USA, Inc. v. Doe}}
A recent case concerning the ATS was ''John Doe I, et al. v. Nestle,'' which was heard by the Supreme Court on December 1, 2020, and decided June 17, 2021.<ref name="Doe I v. Nestle, S.A">{{Cite web|title=Doe I v. Nestle, S.A.|url=https://harvardlawreview.org/2020/06/doe-i-v-nestle-s-a/|access-date=2020-11-05|website=Harvard Law Review|archive-date=2020-08-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200811005810/https://harvardlawreview.org/2020/06/doe-i-v-nestle-s-a/|url-status=live}}</ref> Consolidated with ''[[Cargill]], Inc. v. Doe,''<ref>{{cite news|last1=Gresko|first1=Jessica|date=June 17, 2021|title=High court backs Nestle, Cargill in child slave labor suit|work=[[Associated Press]]|url=https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-us-supreme-court-africa-courts-business-bbc7fd217fbed253cdac1ed2a8f3c97d|access-date=June 17, 2021|archive-date=June 17, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210617151027/https://apnews.com/article/donald-trump-us-supreme-court-africa-courts-business-bbc7fd217fbed253cdac1ed2a8f3c97d|url-status=live}}</ref> the case alleges that Nestlé and Cargill aided and abetted forced child labour in the [[Ivory Coast]] in connection with the harvesting of cocoa.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Nestlé, Cargill, Archer Daniels Midland lawsuit (re Côte d'Ivoire) |publisher=Business & Human Rights Resource Centre|url=https://www.business-humanrights.org/|access-date=2020-11-05|language=en|archive-date=2021-01-26|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210126040533/https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/|url-status=live}}</ref> The applicability of the ATS was interpreted by each circuit individually, with the Ninth and Fourth Circuits in support of investigating Nestle's liability, while the Second Circuit maintained that the Statute did not apply to corporate liability.<ref name="Doe I v. Nestle, S.A"/> In an 8–1 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that the U.S. federal judiciary lacked jurisdiction over the case due to neither corporate defendant having sufficient connections to the U.S. beyond "mere corporate presence".<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57522186 |title=US Supreme Court blocks child slavery lawsuit against chocolate firms |work=BBC News |date=18 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618071813/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-57522186 |archive-date=18 June 2021 }}</ref>

The ''Nestle/Cargill'' ruling was assessed by international legal jurists as narrowing the scope of the ATS while failing to clarify whether or how corporate defendants may be liable under it.<ref name=":2" /> While the Court rejected "general corporate activity", such as the making of operational decisions, as insufficient U.S.-based conduct to establish jurisdiction under the Statute, it did not specify what activities or ties would meet the requirements. However, the Court rejected the defendants' argument to narrow the applicability of the ATS to abuses that take place on U.S. soil, and also disagreed with the [[First presidency of Donald Trump|Trump administration]]'s ''[[amicus curiae]]'' brief asserting that there should be no aiding and abetting cause of action under the Statute.<ref name=":2" />

===''Doe v. Cisco''===
On July 3, 2023, the Ninth Circuit issued a decision in ''Doe v. Cisco''.<ref name=":02">{{Cite web |date=July 7, 2023 |title=Doe v. Cisco |url=https://www.courthousenews.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/doe-v-cisco-appeal-decison.pdf |access-date=November 16, 2024 |website=Courthouse News Service}}</ref> In this case, [[Persecution of Falun Gong|Falun Gong]] practitioners alleged that they were victims of human rights abuses perpetrated by the [[Chinese Communist Party]] and enabled by the technological assistance of [[Cisco]] and two Cisco executives.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Rector |first=Kevin |date=July 7, 2023 |title=Lawsuit alleging California tech giant aided Chinese torture may proceed, 9th Circuit says |url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-07-07/9th-circuit-revives-case-alleging-california-tech-titan-aided-torture-by-china |access-date=November 16, 2024 |work=[[Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref>

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's dismissal of the plaintiffs' ATS claims against the Cisco executives. However, it reversed the dismissal of the plaintiffs' ATS claims against the corporate defendant, Cisco, and the dismissal of claims under the [[Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991|Torture Victim Protection Act]] (TVPA) against the Cisco executives.<ref name=":02" />

The Ninth Circuit relied on the Supreme Court's decision in ''Nestlé'' to conclude that corporations can be held liable under the ATS. Citing the Supreme Court's ruling in ''Sosa'', the court held that aiding and abetting liability is cognizable under the ATS. It ruled that "plaintiffs' allegations against Cisco were sufficient to meet the applicable aiding and abetting standard".<ref name=":02" /> The case was remanded for further proceedings.<ref name=":02" /><ref>{{Cite news |last=Gennaro |first=Michael |date=July 7, 2023 |title=Ninth Circuit revives suit accusing Cisco of aiding and abetting torture in China |url=https://www.courthousenews.com/ninth-circuit-revives-suit-accusing-cisco-of-aiding-and-abetting-torture-in-china/ |access-date=November 16, 2024 |work=[[Courthouse News Service]]}}</ref> In September 2024, the Ninth Circuit denied Cisco's petition for rehearing and stated that the court had "faithfully applied the Sosa framework to the facts of this case".<ref>{{Cite web |title=Doe I, et al v. Cisco Systems, Inc., et al, No. 15-16909 (9th Cir. 2024) |url=https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/ca9/15-16909/15-16909-2024-09-03.html |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=Justia Law |language=en}}</ref> Cisco filed a [[certiorari]] with the Supreme Court in January 2025.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Dodge |first=William S. |date=2025-02-04 |title=Cisco's Cert Petition |url=https://tlblog.org/ciscos-cert-petition/ |access-date=2025-03-09 |website=Transnational Litigation Blog |language=en-US}}</ref>

=== ''Doe v. Exxon Mobil Corp.'' ===
{{Excerpt|Doe v. Exxon Mobil Corp.}}

=== ''Aguinda v. Texaco, Inc.'' ===
{{Excerpt|Aguinda v. Texaco, Inc.}}

=== ''Bancoult v. McNamara'' ===
{{Excerpt|Bancoult v. McNamara}}

=== ''Doe v. Chiquita Brands International'' ===
{{Excerpt|Doe v. Chiquita Brands International}}

=== ''Estate of Rodriquez v. Drummond Co.'' ===
{{Excerpt|Estate of Rodriquez v. Drummond Co.}}

=== Abu Ghraib ===
{{See also|Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse#Other legal proceedings}}

==See also==
* [[Aut dedere aut judicare]]
* [[Torture Victim Protection Act]]
* [[Corporate accountability for human rights violations]]

==Notes==
{{reflist|group=note}}

==References==
{{reflist|30em}}

==External links==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20130730202720/https://litigation-essentials.lexisnexis.com/webcd/app?action=DocumentDisplay&crawlid=1&doctype=cite&docid=34+Suffolk+Transnat%27l+L.+Rev.+263&srctype=smi&srcid=3B15&key=a28be205660753cf7050ff59e5173f20 Corporate Liability Claims Not Actionable Under Alien Tort Statute] in the ''[[Suffolk Transnational Law Review]]''
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20091122185738/http://www.hlrecord.org/news/debate-did-founders-want-u-s-courts-to-look-abroad-for-monsters-to-destroy-1.937204 Debate over Founders' original intent with the Alien Tort Claims Act] in the ''[[Harvard Law Record]]''
* [https://atstoday.blogspot.com/ Alien Tort Statute Today (last updated Feb. 2011)]
* "[http://viewfromll2.com/2009/11/11/alien-tort-statute-cases-resulting-in-plaintiff-victories/ Alien Tort Statute Cases Resulting in Plaintiff Victories]" (November 11, 2009) by Susan Simpson at The View From LL2.
* "[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAPBiATt6LU/ From corporate personhood to corporate humanity: Charlotte Luks at TEDxHampshireCollege]" on YouTube.

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:United States federal legislation articles needing infoboxes]]
[[Category:1789 in American law]]
[[Category:United States federal judiciary legislation]]
[[Category:Alien Tort Statute case law|*]]