Alien Tort Statute

Alien Tort Statute

United States Supreme Court cases
Argentine Republic v. Amerada Hess Shipping Corp., 488 U.S. 428 (1989) Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain, 542 U.S. 692 (2004) Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., 569 U.S. 108 (2013) Jesner v. Arab Bank, PLC, No. 16-499, 584 U.S. ___ (2018) Nestlé USA, Inc. v. Doe, No. 19-416, 593 U.S. ___ (2021)

The Alien Tort Statute (codified in 1948 as 28 U.S.C. § 1350; ATS), also called the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA), is a section in the United States Code that gives federal courts jurisdiction over lawsuits filed by foreign nationals for torts 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.^[1][2] The 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."^[3]

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.^[4] Both case law and jurisprudence differ on what characterizes a sufficient U.S. connection, particularly with respect to corporate entities.^[2]