Alien Tort Statute

The Supreme Court reheard arguments in Koibel v. Royal Dutch Shell this past week.  I discussed this case on this blog back in February.  The issue before the court now is whether the alien tort statute can be used when the parties and the case have no connection to the United States. 

http://www.npr.org/2012/10/01/162110683/high-court-takes-up-human-rights-on-first-day-back

Previous Posts on the Alien Tort Statute:

http://koehlerlegal.blogspot.com/2012/03/alien-tort-statute-revisited.html
http://koehlerlegal.blogspot.com/2012/02/corporate-liability-under-alien-tort.html

s/ Kurt Koehler
308 1/2 S. State Street Suite 36
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48198
(Washtenaw County)

Update on the Alien Tort Statute and torture statute cases

I blogged about the alien tort statute case, Kiobel v. Shell Petroleum, a few months ago.  That case won't be decided until the next Supreme Court term.  The Court did decide a separate case,  Mohamad v. Palestinian Authority, which presented a somewhat similar issue.  The Court unanimously ruled only individuals and not corporations or organizations can be sued under the Torture Victim Protection Act.  The use of the word "individual" in the statute was decisive in the opinion written by Justice Sotomayor. 
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-04-18/torture-suits-against-companies-blocked-by-top-u-s-court.html

The opinion: http://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/11pdf/11-88.pdf

The oral argument transcript: http://www.supremecourt.gov/oral_arguments/argument_transcripts/11-88.pdf

s/ Kurt Koehler
308 1/2 S. State Street Suite 36
Ann Arbor, Michigan 48198
(Washtenaw County)