Alien Tort Statute
August 27, 2009 04:40 PM Filed in: Federal
Courts |
International
Law
Today’s Wall Street
Journal has an interesting article about the Alien Tort
Statute, 28 USC 1350, an “arcane law” dating from
1789. (I have to admit, I wasn’t familiar with
it.) According to the article, the statute “has
been used often in recent years to sue major
companies for alleged complicity in crimes
overseas, including torture and murder. Defendants
need only to have regular business contacts with
the U.S. to be vulnerable to lawsuits.”
Here’s the Second Circuit opinion to
which the article refers, for a little more
background.
0 Comments