Clifford Chance

U.S. Supreme Court Holds Presumption Against Extraterritorial Application Bars Claims Under the Alien Tort Statute

18 April 2013

On April 17, 2013, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its long-anticipated ruling in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. regarding whether the Alien Tort Statue (“ATS”) allows plaintiffs to sue multinational corporations for allegations of human rights violations committed outside the United States.  In a majority decision authored by Chief Justice Roberts, the Court held that the “presumption against extraterritoriality” applies to the ATS and that petitioners failed to overcome the presumption where “all the relevant conduct took place outside the United States.”  Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., 569 U. S. __ (2013) (slip op., at 13-14).  The Court did not address the additional question presented, whether corporations are liable under the ATS.

Download PDF