Supreme Court Limits Alien Tort Statute, Impacting Human Rights Litigation
The U.S. Supreme Court has significantly limited the scope of the Alien Tort Statute (ATS), a 1789 law that allowed foreign nationals to seek remedies in U.S. courts for human rights violations. In the case of Cisco Systems, Inc. v. Doe I, the Court ruled that federal courts cannot create new causes of action under the ATS, effectively closing the door on many human rights claims. This decision overturns a 2004 precedent and restricts the ATS to its original scope, covering only a narrow set of offenses recognized in 1789. 
