Recent Second Circuit Decision Holds That Corporations Are Not Subject to Jurisdiction under the Alien Tort Statute

22 September 2010
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In recent decades, the Alien Tort Statute has increasingly been relied on as a basis for jurisdiction over corporations in actions seeking damages for alleged violations of international law. This client memo discusses a recent decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit holding that corporations are not subject to liability under international law, and therefore fall outside the jurisdictional grant of the Alien Tort Statute.