International Human Rights Litigation in the United States

Abstract

Paul Hoffman reviews the position in the United States regarding the imposition of liability on multinationals for human rights abuses occurring overseas. He focuses on corporate complicity cases brought under the Alien Tort Statute over the past 25 years. By reference to key decisions, he charts the development of the law which had had initially held out considerable promise for human rights victims but which has been gradually whittled away by decisions such as Kiobel in 2012 and Jesner in 2018. The scope of the statute and the concepts of aiding and abetting liability, the presumption against extraterritoriality, ‘touch and concern test’ and ‘foreign sovereign immunity’ are explained. The decision in Doe v. Nestle has resolved many of the uncertainties. Potential liability under various statutes to protect victims of torture, trafficking, terrorism, and corruption are outlined as is the experience of common law tort claims and forum non conveniens.