Alien Tort Statute

Supreme Court to Re-hear Kiobel v. Shell, Focus on Extraterritoriality

Katie Redford | Posted 05.05.2012

Katie Redford

It looks like the Supreme Court may not decide the corporate liability issue this year after all.

Mike Sacks

Supreme Court Expands Corporate Human Rights Case, Avoids Corporate Liability Question

HuffingtonPost.com | Mike Sacks | Posted 03.05.2012

The Supreme Court on Monday afternoon took the unusual action of ordering reargument in the case heard last week that has been brought against a multi...

Supreme Court Appears Divided on Whether to Grant Corporations Immunity From Human Rights Suits

Katie Redford | Posted 05.05.2012

Katie Redford

Several news stories and blog posts suggest that the Supreme Court is prepared to grant corporations immunity from human rights lawsuits. That was not a conclusion I thought could be easily drawn after the hearing.

Supreme Court: Are Corporations Liable for Aiding and Abetting Crimes Against Humanity?

Valerie Brender | Posted 04.29.2012

Valerie Brender

Whatever happens with the Kiobel decision, it will be a watershed moment for corporate accountability.

Welcome to the Corporatocracy, Where Life Is Nasty, Brutish and Short

Thom Hartmann | Posted 04.29.2012

Thom Hartmann

The Supreme Court is set to hear a case that could give corporations the power to commit genocide with no consequences. The High Court has agreed to ...

Corporate Crime and Punishment

Arvind Ganesan | Posted 04.29.2012

Arvind Ganesan

Should corporations have immunity for human rights abuses? Today, the Supreme Court hears arguments in a case that will decide whether corporations will be exempted from a crucial law that allows foreign victims of serious human rights abuses to sue them in US courts for civil damages.

Mike Sacks

Supreme Court Looks Ready To Grant Corporate Immunity In Human Rights Case

HuffingtonPost.com | Mike Sacks | Posted 02.28.2012

WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday morning appeared divided along party lines, with a conservative majority ready to hold that corporations ca...

Mike Sacks

Corporate Personhood Case Forces Justices To Hack New Path

HuffingtonPost.com | Mike Sacks | Posted 02.28.2012

WASHINGTON -- On Tuesday morning, the Supreme Court will hear oral argument on whether corporations, like real people, can be held liable in American ...

Mike Sacks

Supreme Court Debates Again Whether Corporations Are People

HuffingtonPost.com | Mike Sacks | Posted 12.16.2011

This article is in collaboration with The Dylan Ratigan Show's "Mad As Hell" series. WASHINGTON -- A multinational oil company will be coming to th...

Mike Sacks

9th Circuit Widens Court Split Over Suing Corporations

HuffingtonPost.com | Mike Sacks | Posted 12.25.2011

WASHINGTON -- Corporations can be held liable in U.S. courts for human rights violations committed abroad, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circu...

Corporate Executives: Get Ready for a Billion Dollar Lawsuit

Ben Kerschberg | Posted 05.25.2011

Ben Kerschberg

A recent court decision being hailed as the end of the multi-billion dollar Alien Tort Statute litigation industry is anything but, as plaintiffs' cross-hairs will simply shift from corporations to the individuals who serve them.

Speaking Hypothetically: What to Do When a PMC Tortures

David Isenberg | Posted 05.25.2011

David Isenberg

Let's just suppose for a moment, speaking hypothetically, that a private military contractor engaged in acts of torture. I write "hypothetically" beca...

The Hypocrisy (and Holes) in U.S. Torture Laws

Valerie Brender | Posted 05.25.2011

Valerie Brender

What happens when a country with a strong constitutional and statutory history of bringing torturers to justice suddenly discovers that its officials were the perpetrators?

Coca-Cola Co. Denies Involvement in Murder and Rape, Blames "U.S. Judicial System"

Eric Michael Johnson | Posted 05.25.2011

Eric Michael Johnson

Coca-Cola has long marketed itself as synonymous with American values. But after recent allegations that it covered up acts of murder and rape at a Guatemalan subsidiary, Coca Cola may face up to justice.

Bowoto v. Chevron: Approaching the Arguments

Scott Gilmore | Posted 05.25.2011

Scott Gilmore

Why do police negotiators generally refuse to pay ransom for hostages? To do so would actually encourage more kidnappings by providing an incentive to would-be kidnappers.

Bowoto v. Chevron: The Oil Men and the Juju Man

Scott Gilmore | Posted 05.25.2011

Scott Gilmore

What happens when an oil company gets its back to the wall in a human rights lawsuit? Like a cornered hound, it goes on the attack.