The Alien Tort Statute

For the past thirty years, survivors of egregious human rights violations have used the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) as a means to seek justice in U.S. Courts. The ATS was passed as part of the First Judiciary Act in 1789 and allows non-U.S. citizens to bring civil suits in U.S. federal courts for violations of international law. An important body of law has developed under the ATS since 1980 to hold perpetrators to account for violations such as extrajudicial killing, torture, war crimes, and crimes against humanity.

Since 2004, the Clinic has played a major role in ATS litigation, partnering with leading members of the plaintiffs’ bar. We serve as co-counsel on several major cases, regularly file amicus curiae briefs, and provide extensive legal research and drafting, fact-finding, and strategic support for numerous cases.

Clinical Director Tyler Giannini and Associate Clinical Director Susan Farbstein are recognized leaders in ATS litigation. They currently serve as co-counsel in In re South African Apartheid Litigation, a suit against multinational corporations (Ford, Daimler, GM, and IBM) for aiding and abetting human rights violations committed by the apartheid state. They are also co-counsel in Mamani v. Sanchez de Lozada and Sanchez Berzain, a case against the former Bolivian president and the former Bolivian defense minister for their roles in a 2003 civilian massacre. The Clinic, led by Susan, also played a major role in trial preparation for Wiwa v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., which successfully settled in 2009.

The Clinic regularly submits amicus curiae briefs on important appellate matters. For example, in June 2011, the Clinic filed a brief on behalf of legal historians in support of a petition for certiorari to to the U.S. Supreme Court in a major corporate ATS case, Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co, brought by Nigerian plaintiffs. During the 2009-2010 term, the Clinic also served as counsel on two Supreme Court amicus curiae briefs. One was filed in Samantar v. Yousuf on behalf of major human rights NGOs. The other was filed in support of a petition for certiorari on behalf of leading international law scholars in Presbyterian Church of Sudan v. Talisman.