Media Coverage
Source: Daily Journal
Media Coverage
05.02.13
In Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., the Supreme Court unanimously ruled that the Alien Tort Statue does not apply extraterritorially in cases alleging violations of international law occurring within the territory of sovereigns outside the United States.
According to New York-based litigation partner David M. Lindley, Kiobel was an “encouraging decision but not the end of the story.”
“[The ruling] should help large businesses from being brought into cases like this - they will breathe easier,” he commented. “But everyone else who gets caught up in these controversies can't be confident of the outcome.”
Lindley said that the decision will have the biggest impact on large global businesses that are accused of aiding and abetting human rights violations overseas. Most at risk under the statute are foreign-born individuals now living in America who are accused of human rights violations before they emigrated to the U.S., he elaborated.