Latest in Alien Tort Statute
It has been half a year since the Supreme Court decided Jesner v. Arab Bank, which held that the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) did not permit federal courts to recognize causes of action against foreign corporations. When the Jesner ruling was announced, commentators disagreed about its impact.
This Tuesday, the Supreme Court held in Jesner et al. v. Arab Bank, PLC that the federal courts are not available to aliens in actions against foreign corporations.
In a 5-4 vote, with Justice Anthony Kennedy writing the majority opinion, the court affirmed the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit’s dismissal of the case and held that aliens cannot bring suit under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) against foreign corporations.
Procedural History
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court issued the following opinion in Jesner v. Arab Bank, which held that foreign corporations cannot be held liable under the Alien Tort Statute.
In Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, the Supreme Court held that the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) is presumed not to apply to conduct on the territory of another country unless the plaintiff’s claims “touch and concern” the United States with sufficient force to overcome that presumption. For the last four years, plaintiffs, defendants and courts have struggled to define the contours of the Supreme Court’s cryptic “touch and concern” standard.
As Quinta Jurecic reported Friday, in Jaber v. United States, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C.
The jurisdictional and procedural barriers are high for plaintiffs seeking to hold individuals liable for post-9/11 U.S. counterterrorism programs. But a torture suit brought by alien plaintiffs against two American CIA contractors seems likely to reach a trial on the merits after surviving a second motion to dismiss last Friday.
At a time of heightened concern over a new wave of terrorism financing