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Simple English definitions for legal terms
Alien Tort Statute
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A quick definition of Alien Tort Statute:
The Alien Tort Statute (ATS) is a law that allows people from other countries to sue in US courts if they were hurt by someone breaking international laws or treaties. However, the Supreme Court has said that the violation must have happened in the US. The law can be used to sue both people and companies, but not governments. The violation must be a specific and important international law. Some courts have disagreed on whether companies can be sued under the ATS. Recently, the Supreme Court said that foreign companies cannot be sued under the ATS, and that there must be a connection between the company's actions in the US and the violation for the lawsuit to go forward.A more thorough explanation:
The Alien Tort Statute (ATS) is a law in the United States that allows foreign citizens to sue in U.S. courts for violations of international law. The law gives federal courts the power to hear cases where an alien (a non-U.S. citizen) claims that they were harmed by a violation of international law or a treaty of the United States.
For example, if a foreign citizen is tortured or killed by a U.S. corporation or government official in another country, they may be able to sue in a U.S. court under the ATS.
However, the Supreme Court has limited the scope of the ATS in recent years. In Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., the Court ruled that the ATS only applies to violations of international law that occur within the United States. In Jesner v. Arab Bank, PLC, the Court held that the ATS cannot be used to sue foreign corporations. And in Nestlé USA, Inc. v. Doe, the Court ruled that there must be a connection between a corporation's domestic conduct and the alleged violation of international law for the ATS to apply.
Despite these limitations, the ATS remains an important tool for holding individuals and corporations accountable for human rights abuses and other violations of international law.