US Supreme Court limits foreign lawsuits against American tech firms over overseas human rights abuses.
In a major ruling limiting the reach of federal courts over overseas corporate conduct, the U. S. Supreme Court ruled 6-3 on Tuesday that foreign plaintiffs cannot use the Alien Tort Statute or the Torture Victim Protection Act to sue American companies for allegedly aiding and abetting human rights abuses abroad. The decision in Cisco Systems, Inc. v. Doe (No. 24-856) sharply restricts the ability of international claimants to haul U. S. corporations into domestic courts over technology sales and commercial ties to foreign regimes. Writing for the conservative majority, Justice Amy Coney Barrett held that federal judges lack the constitutional authority to create private causes of action under the 1789 Alien Tort Statute (ATS) and that the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991 (TVPA) does not establish secondary aiding-and-abetting liability. Barrett was joined by Chief Justice John Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito, Neil Gorsuch, and Brett Kavanaugh.
“Today, we close the door that Sosa cracked and hold that courts may not create new causes of action for violations of international norms,” Barrett wrote, referring to the court’s 2004 precedent in Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain. ” The litigation originated from a lawsuit brought by unnamed practitioners of Falun Gong, a religious movement banned by the Chinese government.