Or a Treaty of the United States: Treaties and the Alien Tort Statute After Kiobel

Authors

Geoffrey R. Watson, The Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2013

Abstract

The decision in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. left open a number of questions about the scope of the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). One such question is the extent to which Kiobel ’s holding on extraterritoriality applies to the oft-neglected final words of the ATS: “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.” What if one such treaty obliged the United States to provide a civil forum for litigation ofhumanrights violations that occurred abroad and did not involve piracy?

Recommended Citation

Geoffrey R. Watson, “Or a Treaty of the United States”: Treaties and the Alien Tort Statute After Kiobel, 107 AM. J. INT’L L. E4 (2013).