Opening its new term with old business, the U.S. Supreme Court on Monday appeared likely to restrict lawsuits in federal courts by foreign victims of human rights violations committed abroad.
The Court originally heard arguments last term in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum on whether corporations could be liable under the 1789 Alien Tort Statute. That law authorizes federal courts to hear civil claims by aliens for torts committed in violation of international law or a treaty of the United States. However, the Court raised the already high stakes for business and human rights groups by ordering reargument on an additional and broader question — whether the law applies when those violations by any defendant occur in foreign nations.
