The Alien Tort Statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1350, (ATS) is a federal law that states, in relevant part: The United States Code (U.S.C.) is a compilation and codification of the general and permanent federal Law of the United States. ...

"The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States."

Map of the boundaries of the United States Courts of Appeals and United States District Courts The United States district courts are the general trial courts of the United States federal court system. ... The original jurisdiction of a court refers to matters on which the court rules directly, rather than on matters which are referred to it after being heard by another court. ... In law, an alien is a person who is not a citizen of the land where he or she is found. ... This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... This is a list of treaties to which the United States has been a party or which have had direct relevance to U.S. history. ...

History

ATS was part of the Judiciary Act of 1789. It was generally considered to include torts which occurred during acts of piracy, violations of safe conducts, or interference with the rights of ambassadors. It was very rarely used and its limits were not tested until 1980, when plaintiffs invoked ATS in Filartiga v. Pena-Irala, 630 F.2d 876 (2d Cir. 1980). Filartiga v. Pena-Irala involved a suit by relatives of a Paraguayan who was kidnapped and tortured to death by the defendant, a Paraguayan police official. The first page of the Judiciary Act of 1789 The United States Judiciary Act of 1789 (1 Stat. ... The Flag of 18th Century pirate Calico Jack This article is about sea piracy; for other uses of Piracy or Pirate, see Pirate (disambiguation). ... Safe conduct signifies the security given by authority of a government to a stranger for his quietly coming into and passing out of the territories over which the government has jurisdiction or control. ... Diplomatic immunity is a form of legal immunity and a policy held between governments, which ensures that diplomats are given safe passage and are considered not susceptible to lawsuit or prosecution under the host countrys laws (although they can be expelled). ... 1980 (MCMLXXX) was a leap year starting on Tuesday. ... Filártiga v. ...

Since then, about 100 suits have been filed under ATS. Most frequently, it is used by plaintiffs as a basis for jurisdiction for claims involving torts arguably in violation of modern international law. The Torture Victim Protection Act (1992) specifically addressed cases such as Filartiga v. Pena-Irala and may be considered to replace ATS to that extent. In law, jurisdiction from the Latin jus, juris meaning law and dicere meaning to speak, is the practical authority granted to a formally constituted body or to a person to deal with and make pronouncements on legal matters and, by implication, to administer justice within a defined area of responsibility. ... This article or section is missing references or citation of sources. ... The Torture Victim Protection Act is a statute that allows for the filing of civil suits, in the United States, against individuals who, acting in an official capacity for any foreign nation, committed torture and/or extrajudicial killing. ... Filártiga v. ...

Legal Issues

The statute provides a proper legal venue to victims who could not otherwise bring their oppressors to justice by allowing U.S. courts to decide human rights cases even when neither party has any connection to the United States. The accused must be in the U.S. to be served court papers. If the defendant in a claim brought under the Alien Tort Statute is a foreign sovereign state (or some agency or subdivision thereof), the jurisdictional requirements of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act still must be satisfied before a court can hear the claim. Proper venue is one requirement for a court to be able to hear a case. ... Human rights are rights which some hold to be inalienable and belonging to all humans. ... Sovereignty is the exclusive right to exercise supreme political (e. ... A state is an organized political community, occupying a territory, and possessing internal and external sovereignty, that enforces a monopoly on the use of force. ... The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) of 1976 is a statute under United States law that sets the limitations on how a foreign sovereign nation (or its agents, instrumentalities, or subdivisions) may be sued in U.S. courts. ...

One area which has recently excited controversy is the use of the statute to sue American and other international corporations for damages which result from their actions in other countries. The opposing position of the National Association of Manufacturers has been adopted by the administration of George W. Bush, but has not resulted in a United States Supreme Court decision which precludes such legal actions. The National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), one of industrys most powerful lobbies, was founded in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1895. ... George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is the 43rd and current President of the United States and a former governor of Texas. ... The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C. The Supreme Court Building, Washington, D.C., (large image) The Supreme Court of the United States, located in Washington, D.C., is the highest court (see supreme court) in the United States; that is, it has ultimate judicial authority within the United States...

Unocal settlement

In December 2004, energy company Unocal agreed to settle a suit brought against it under the statute by Burmese villagers. The villagers filed suit in connection with alleged human rights violations, including forced labour, in Unocal's energy investment in the Yadana gas pipeline project in Myanmar, formerly Burma. Myanmar's military dictatorship has come under intense international scrutiny for its use of forced civilian labour to drive its military projects. 2004 (MMIV) was a leap year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The Unocal Corporation (NYSE: UCL), based in Los Angeles, California, was founded in 1890 as the Union Oil Company of California. ... To meet Wikipedias quality standards, this article or section may require cleanup. ...

http://www.laborrights.org/projects/corporate/unocal/settlement1204.htm

External links

• Alien Tort Claims Act from Harvard Law.
• Is the Alien Tort Claims Act a powerful human rights tool? from CNN.com
• Defend the Alien Tort Claims Act from Human Rights Watch
• Info on statute from the National Association of Manufacturers
• Pirates of the Corporation - commentary on recent legal actions on corporations under the act, by Joshua Kurlantzick
• Shaw, Courtney (June 1 2002). "Uncertain justice: liability of multinationals under the Alien Tort Claims Act". Stanford Law Review 54 (6): 1359.