For Immediate Release
June 29, 2004

USA: Core Principles of Alien Tort Claims Act Upheld
Foreign Victims of Human Rights Abuses Preserve Access to US Courts

(New York) -- Amnesty International USA welcomes the Supreme Court decision today that upholds the core principles of the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA). The ATCA allows foreign victims of human rights abuses to sue perpetrators who are present in the United States. Today, the Court has recognized that ATCA still allows suits for violations of international norms that are "specific, universal, and obligatory." Amnesty International believes that violations such as war crimes, crimes against humanity, torture, extrajudicial execution, prolonged arbitrary detention and slavery-like conditions meet the Court's standard as norms of customary international law.

"The ATCA serves to simultaneously heal and protect, providing the potential for closure to the victim, while deterring potential future abuses," said Dr. William F. Schulz, Executive Director of Amnesty International USA.

While the first ATCA cases focused on the actual perpetrators of the wrongs, courts soon extended liability to state actors who bore indirect responsibility, as well. This includes superiors who order wrongful conduct, as well as those who have effective command and authority over the principle perpetrator. Both former government leaders and private individuals, including Ferdinand Marcos and Radovan Karadzic, have been held liable under the ATCA for their roles in human rights violations, including torture, extrajudicial killing and genocide.

In the effort to bring all responsible parties to justice, a growing number of cases have focused on the role of multinational companies in violations of international human rights laws. These cases generally argue that corporations should be held liable when they knowingly facilitate the commission of crimes that violate customary international norms. For example, citizens of Myanmar (Burma) filed a suit against Unocal, a US company, for its role in supporting atrocities committed by the military against rural villagers. United States courts have already reached numerous decisions on the limits and scope of the ATCA, offering ever more clear guidance to multinational companies about what conduct is and is not acceptable in the global economy.

Over the past three years, the Bush Administration has positioned itself against the statute and waged an active campaign to undermine its legitimacy. "The United States should be seen as a leader in promoting accountability, rather than a power that allows individuals, governments and corporations to act with impunity. Despite the new limitations imposed by the Court, today's decision reaffirms the US's continued commitment to the establishment of global human rights standards," said Schulz.

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