Iraqi women who were the victims of torture under the regime of Saddam Hussein are barred from seeking redress through the Alien Tort Statute, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit said Thursday.
Addressing a case of first impression, the Second Circuit said a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court decision sharply curtailing actions that can be brought under the statute (ATS) leaves the plaintiffs without redress in U.S. courts against companies who allegedly skirted United Nations sanctions and undermined the U.N.’s Oil-for-Food program by paying bribes disguised as “surcharges” for oil or handling financial transactions for Hussein.
