Kiobel and the New Battle Over Congressional Intent

AJIL Unbound, 2014

5 Pages Posted: 24 May 2015

See all articles by David H. Moore

David H. Moore

Brigham Young University - J. Reuben Clark Law School

Date Written: 2014

Abstract

Transnational human rights litigation under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) has been plagued by the overarching question of the domestic legal status of customary international law (CIL). Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. is the Supreme Court’s second installment on the ATS. Like Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain4 before it, Kiobel does not expressly address the domestic legal status of CIL, but it does provide clues. Those clues suggest two insights: the Court views CIL as external to U.S. law, rather than as part of federal common law, and the role of CIL in future cases may be affected less by arguments about CIL’s status as federal common law than by arguments about congressional intent.

Keywords: Kiobel, Sosa, Alvarez-Machain, Royal Dutch, alien tort statute, customary international law, human rights, federal courts, congressional intent, foreign relations law

Suggested Citation

Moore, David H., Kiobel and the New Battle Over Congressional Intent (2014). AJIL Unbound, 2014, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2609581

David H. Moore (Contact Author)

Brigham Young University - J. Reuben Clark Law School ( email )

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Brigham Young University
Provo, UT 84602
United States
801-422-8549 (Phone)
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