University of Utah S.J. Quinney College of Law Professor Erika George recently published an op-ed in The Salt Lake Tribune.
In her commentary, titled “How to get away with genocide,” George wrote:
Professor Erika George
“Victims of human rights violations can no longer sue foreign corporations in U.S. Courts. With its recent decision in Jesner v. Arab Bank the U.S. Supreme Court has handed would-be violators of international human rights a victory by categorically excluding all claims against foreign corporations for violations of the “laws of nations” — no matter the scale or magnitude of the abuse.
Victims of human rights violations have used the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), a federal law that gives U.S. courts authority to address “any civil action by an alien for a tort, committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States,” to hold violators accountable for abuses — including corporations that have been complicit in committing violations of international law.”