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International Law in the American Courts – Khulumani v. Barclay National Bank Ltd.: The Decision Heard ‘Round the Corporate World
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 06 March 2019
Extract
On June 30, 1980, the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit issued Filártiga v. Peña-Irala. In this landmark case, the Paraguayan plaintiffs sought to hold Americo Norbeto Peña-Irala, a high-ranking Paraguayan police officer, liable for torture that led to the death of Joel Filártiga in Paraguay. They rested their main jurisdictional argument “upon the Alien Tort Statute, 28 U.S.C. § 1350, which provides: ‘The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States.'” The Second Circuit held, “[D]eliberate torture perpetrated under color of official authority violates universally accepted norms of the international law of human rights, regardless of the nationality of the parties. Thus, whenever an alleged torturer is found and served with process by an alien within our borders, § 1350 provides federal jurisdiction.” It added that “Our holding today, giving effect to a jurisdictional provision enacted by our First Congress, is a small but important step in the fulfillment of the ageless dream to free all people from brutal violence.”
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References
1 See Filártiga v. Peña-Irala, 630 F.2d 876 (2d Cir. 1980) (involving an appeal from the United States District Court for the Eastern District of New York, where Judge Eugene Nickerson dismissed the action for want of subject matter jurisdiction).Google Scholar
2 See id. at 878 (alleging that Joelito Filártiga was kidnapped and tortured to death by Peña-Irala, while the latter was an Inspector General of Police in Asunción, Paraguay).Google Scholar
3 Id. at 880.Google Scholar
4 Id. at 878.Google Scholar
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12 See Khulumani v. Barclay Nat'l Bank Ltd., 504 F.3d 254 (2d Cir. 2007) (finding that the plaintiffs may plead a theory of aiding and abetting liability under the ATCA).Google Scholar
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86 See Goldhaber, Michael, supra note 36, at 77 (discussing American Isuzu Motors, Inc. v. Ntsebeza, Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Doe, and Rinto Tinto PLC v. Sarei as three ATS, corporate cases that could receive cert by the Supreme Court).Google Scholar
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89 In re South African Apartheid Litig., No. 1:01–CV–04712, Compl. (S.D.N.Y. June 19, 2002).Google Scholar
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95 See id. at 543 (“Because the Court finds that the various Complaints do not sufficiently allege that defendants violated international law, this Court lacks subject matter jurisdiction under the ATCA and therefore defendants’ motion is granted and plaintiffs’ complaints are dismissed.”).Google Scholar
96 See Filártiga v. Peña-Irala, 630 F.2d 876, 878 (2d Cir. 1980) (“Construing this rarely-invoked provision, we hold that deliberate torture perpetrated under color of official authority violates universally accepted norms of the international law of human rights, regardless of the nationality of the parties. Thus, whenever an alleged torturer is found and served with process by an alien within our borders, § 1350 provides federal jurisdiction.”).Google Scholar
97 See Kadic v. Karadzic, 70 F.3d 232, 235 (2d Cir. 1995) (holding that claims may be brought against de facto, but unrecognized governments and private bodies under the ATCA; providing, “Most Americans would probably be surprised to learn that victims of atrocities committed in Bosnia are suing the leader of the insurgent Bosnian-Serb forces in a United States District Court in Manhattan. Their claims seek to build upon the foundation of this Court's decision in Filártiga v. Peña-Irala, 630 F.2d 876 (2d Cir. 1980), which recognized the important principle that the venerable Alien Tort Act, 28 U.S.C. § 1350 (1988), enacted in 1789 but rarely invoked since then, validly creates federal court jurisdiction for suits alleging torts committed anywhere in the world against aliens in violation of the law of nations.”).Google Scholar
98 See Presbyterian Church of Sudan v. Talisman Energy, 244 F. Supp. 2d 289, 304 (S.D.N.Y. 2003) (“Filartiga proved to be a watershed opinion, catapulting a largely overlooked statute into the limelight as a means of vindicating rights under international law. Later decisions by both the Second Circuit and other courts have upheld and expanded the reasoning of the Filartiga court. See, e.g., Kadic v. Karadzic, 70 F.3d 232 (2d Cir. 1995); Wiwa v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., 226 F.3d 88 (2d Cir. 2000).”).Google Scholar
99 See Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain, 542 U.S. 692, 729 (2004) (“Whereas Justice SCALIA sees these developments as sufficient to close the door to further independent judicial recognition of actionable international norms, other considerations persuade us that the judicial power should be exercised on the understanding that the door is still ajar subject to vigilant doorkeeping, and thus open to a narrow class of international norms today.”).Google Scholar
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104 See In re South African Apartheid Litig., 346 F. Supp. 2d 538, 547 (S.D.N.Y. 2003) (referencing Sosa, 124 S.Ct. at 2761–62).Google Scholar
105 Erie R. Co. v. Tompkins, 304 U.S. 64 (1938).Google Scholar
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107 Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain, 542 U.S. 692, 727 (2004).Google Scholar
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111 See id. at 549 (referencing Sosa, 542 U.S. at 725).Google Scholar
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116 See Presbyterian Church of Sudan v. Talisman Energy, Inc., 244 F. Supp. 2d 289 (S.D.N.Y. 2003) (alleging the defendant collaborated in torture, enslavement, war crimes, and genocide effectuated by the Sudanese government).Google Scholar
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125 See Khulumani v. Barclay Nat'l Bank Ltd., 504 F.3d 254, 259–60 (2d Cir. 2007) (per curiam) (including Section II, which affirms the dismissal of the complaints insofar as they seek to assert jurisdiction under the Torture Victim Protection Act and 28 U.S.C. § 1332(a)(3)).Google Scholar
126 See id. at 259 (“Later that month, Penuell Mpapa Maduna, who was then the Minister of Justice and Constitutional Development for South Africa, submitted an ex parte declaration to the district court, stating that the South African government regarded these proceedings as interfering ‘with a foreign sovereign's efforts to address matters in which it has the predominant interest’ and asking that the proceedings be dismissed.”).Google Scholar
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128 See id. (“The State Department responded by submitting a ‘Statement of Interest’ asserting that ‘continued adjudication of the above-referenced matters risks potentially serious adverse consequences for significant interests of the United States.'”).Google Scholar
129 Id. at 260.Google Scholar
130 See id. at 260–61 (“We therefore decline to determine whether the plaintiffs have adequately pled a violation of international law sufficient to avail themselves of jurisdiction under the ATCA and remand to the district court to allow it to address the pleadings after amendment as may be permitted has occurred.”).Google Scholar
131 Khulumani v. Barclay Nat'l Bank Ltd., 504 F.3d 254, 260–61 (2d Cir. 2007) (per curiam).Google Scholar
132 Id. at 261.Google Scholar
133 See id. at 261–62 (referencing Justice Breyer's Sosa concurrence in which he suggested that courts should consider “whether the exercise of jurisdiction under the [ATCA] is consistent with those notions of comity that lead each nation to respect the sovereign rights of other nations by limiting the reach of its laws and their enforcement.”).Google Scholar
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135 See id. at 263–64 (“At this stage in the litigation, we express no view as to what level of deference to their views is appropriate in this particular case. Instead, we remand to the district court so that it may carefully consider whether any of these doctrines require dismissal.”).Google Scholar
136 See id. at 264 (stating in part “[w]e vacate the district court's dismissal of the plaintiffs’ ATCA claims, as well as the district court's denial of the Digwamaje and Ntsebeza Plaintiffs’ motions to amend and REMAND for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.”).Google Scholar
137 Khulumani v. Barclay Nat'l Bank Ltd., 504 F.3d 254, 264 (2d Cir. 2007) (Katzmann, J., concurring in part); See Georgene M. Vairo, Human Rights Violations, Nat'l L. J., Feb. 18, 2008, at 20 (“The Sosa decision quite plainly separates the two questions: First, the court must determine whether there is jurisdiction. Assuming this threshold is met, then, the court must determine whether a common law cause of action ought to be created to provide a remedy. At this point, it is appropriate for the court to limit its discretion.”).Google Scholar
138 Id. Google Scholar
139 Id. at 266.Google Scholar
140 See id. at 268 (referencing Sosa, 542 U.S. at 732–33).Google Scholar
141 See id. (perhaps referencing judicial economy concerns).Google Scholar
142 See id. (referencing In re South African Apartheid Litig., 346 F. Supp. 2d at 549); See Georgene M. Vairo, Human Rights Violations, Nat'l L. J., Feb. 18, 2008, at 20 (“Katzmann agreed that the district court was correct to look to international law as the source of the cause of action, but disagreed with its conclusion.”).Google Scholar
143 See Khulumani v. Barclay Nat'l Bank Ltd., 504 F.3d 254, 277 (2d Cir. 2007) (Katzmann, J., concurring in part) (citing Flores v. S. Peru Copper Corp., 414 F.3d 233, 248 (2d. Cir. 2003)).Google Scholar
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146 See id. (specifically advocating for the adoption of the following test: “For harm resulting to a third person from the tortuous conduct of another, one is subject to liability if he …(b) knows that the other's conduct constitutes a breach of duty and gives substantial assistance or encouragement to the other so to conduct himself.”).Google Scholar
147 See id. (citing Kadic v. Karadzic, 70 F.3d 232, 246 (2d Cir. 1995)).Google Scholar
148 See Doe v. Unocal Corp., 395 F.3d 932 (9th Cir. 2002), reh'g en banc granted, 395 F.3d 978 (9th Cir. 2003), vacated, 403 F.3d 708 (9th Cir. 2005).Google Scholar
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150 In re South African Apartheid Litig., 346 F. Supp. 2d 538, 554 (S.D.N.Y. 2003).Google Scholar
151 Khulumani v. Barclay Nat'l Bank Ltd., 504 F.3d 254, 289 (2d Cir. 2007) (Hall, J., concurring in part).Google Scholar
152 Id. Google Scholar
153 See id. (referencing Doe I v. Unocal Corp., 395 F.3d 932, 967 (9th Cir. 2002)).Google Scholar
154 See Khulumani v. Barclay Nat'l Bank Ltd., 504 F.3d 254, 293 (2d Cir. 2007) (Korman, J., dissenting).Google Scholar
155 Id. at 295.Google Scholar
156 Id. Google Scholar
157 Id. at 292.Google Scholar
158 Id. at 298–99.Google Scholar
159 Id. Google Scholar
160 See Khulumani v. Barclay Nat'l Bank Ltd., 504 F.3d 254, 309 (2d Cir. 2007) (Korman, J., dissenting) (distinguishing his conclusions from those of Judge Katzmann).Google Scholar
161 See id. at 310 (“Since subject matter jurisdiction under the ATCA depends on whether the defendants have violated an international law norm which federal courts are prepared to recognize, accept and make available to litigants, the application of the criteria for making that determination is one that by definition goes to the issue of subject matter jurisdiction.”).Google Scholar
162 See id. at 319–26 (discussing the aiding and abetting liability of private parties and the liability of corporations).Google Scholar
163 See id. at 321.Google Scholar
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165 Id. at 323.Google Scholar
166 Khulumani v. Barclay Nat'l Bank Ltd., 504 F.3d 254, 322–23 (2d Cir. 2007) (Korman, J., dissenting).Google Scholar
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168 Id. at 325–26; Cf. In re Agent Orange Product Liability Litig. 373 F. Supp. 2d 7, 53–54 (E.D.N.Y. 2005) (“The liability of private actors, as aiders and abettors, for violations of international law was understood at the time the ATS was enacted. In a 1795 opinion issued by Attorney General Bradford specifically states that individuals would be liable under the ATS for ‘committing, aiding, or abetting’ violations of the laws of war. Breach of Neutrality, 1 Op. Att'y Gen. 57, 59 (1795).”).Google Scholar
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170 See id. at 333 (“Nevertheless, I concur in section II.B of his opinion that articulates the customary international law standard for aiding-and-abetting based on the Rome Statute.”).Google Scholar
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172 See Doe I v. Unocal Corp., 395 F.3d 932, 948 (9th Cir. 2002), reh'g en banc granted, 395 F.3d 978 (9th Cir. 2003), vacated, 403 F.3d 708 (9th Cir. 2005) (stating that the plaintiffs might be able to plead aiding and abetting liability under § 1350).Google Scholar
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175 Id. at 330.Google Scholar
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178 See, e.g., Gwynne Skinner, supra note 114, at 349–50.Google Scholar
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180 See Presbyterian Church of Sudan v. Talisman Energy, Inc., 453 F. Supp. 2d 633, 670 (S.D.N.Y. 2006) (“While issues of knowledge and intent are exquisitely fact intensive inquiries, and not typically appropriate for resolution on summary judgment, it is nonetheless incumbent on a plaintiff to point to evidence from which a reasonable juror could infer those states of mind. The plaintiffs have pointed to no such evidence, circumstantial or otherwise. Talisman is entitled to summary judgment on the claim that Talisman aided and abetted genocide.”).Google Scholar
181 See id. at 655 (“As described above, they contend that Talisman joined a conspiracy to commit a crime against humanity, specifically, a widespread and systematic attack on a civilian population to displace it forcibly.”).Google Scholar
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184 Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., 456 F. Supp. 2d 457, 463–64 (S.D.N.Y. 2006).Google Scholar
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186 Id. at 463–64.Google Scholar
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188 See Almog v. Arab Bank, 471 F. Supp. 2d 257, 285 (E.D.N.Y. 2007) (discussing the South African apartheid litigation and noting that the Executive Branch has not protested the Arab Bank lawsuit).Google Scholar
189 Id. at 259–65.Google Scholar
190 Id. at 286–87.Google Scholar
191 Id. at 263–64.Google Scholar
192 Vietnam Ass'n for Victims of Agent Orange v. Dow Chemical Co., 517 F.3d 104 (2d Cir. 2008).Google Scholar
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195 See Curtis Bradley, Jack Goldsmith, & Moore, David, Sosa, Customary International Law, and the Continuing Relevance of Erie, 120 Harv. L. Rev. 869, 927 (2007) (analyzing the Supreme Court's 2004 decision against the backdrop of the post-Erie federal common law and stating that “[w]hile the concept of aiding and abetting liability is recognized as a general matter in international criminal tribunals, it is applied in those tribunals only to natural persons, not corporations.”).Google Scholar
196 See In re Agent Orange Product Liability Litig., 373 F. Supp. 2d 7, 52–53 (E.D.N.Y. 2005) (“See, Kadic v. Karadzic, 70 F.3d [232,] 239 [(2d Cir. 1995)] (the reach of international law is not limited to []state actors); Presbyterian Church of Sudan v. Talisman Energy, Inc., 244 F. Supp. 2d [289,] 321 [(S.D.N.Y. 2003)] (holding that “ATCA suits [may] proceed based on theories of conspiracy and aiding and abetting”); Abdullahi v. Pfizer, Inc., 77 Fed.Appx. 48 (2d Cir. 2003); Wiwa v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., No. 96 Civ. 8386, 2002 WL 319887 (S.D.N.Y. Feb. 28, 2002) (finding that private corporations could be held liable for “joint action” with state actors); Bodner v. Banque Paribas, 114 F. Supp. 2d 117, 127–28 (E.D.N.Y. 2000) (holding that subject matter jurisdiction existed under the ATCA, where plaintiffs alleged a French bank had been complicit with the Nazi regime); Iwanowa [v. Ford Motor Co.], 67 F. Supp. 2d [424,] 445 [(D.N.J. 1999)] (“No logical reason exists for allowing private individuals and corporations to escape liability for universally condemned violations of international law merely because they were not acting under color of law.”); see also Doe v. Unocal, [395 F.3d 932, 975–78] (9th Cir. 2002)[,] vacated [by] 395 F.3d 978 [(9th Cir. 2003)]; Burnett v. Al Bar[aka] Investment & Development Corp., 292 F. Supp. 2d 9 (D.D.C. 2003); Mehinovic v. Vuckovic, 198 F. Supp. 2d 1322, 1355 (N.D. Ga. 2002) (“United States courts have recognized that principles of accomplice liability apply under the ATCA to those who assist others in the commission of torts that violate customary international law.” (citing cases)); Eastman Kodak Co. v. Kavlin, 978 F. Supp. 1078, 1090–95 (S.D. Fla. 1997) (holding that subject matter jurisdiction existed in an ATCA action against a Bolivian corporation); Carmichael v. United Technologies Corp., 835 F.2d 109, 113–114 (5th Cir. [1988]) (assuming without deciding that ATCA confers jurisdiction over private parties who aid, abet or conspire in human rights violations). …”).Google Scholar
197 See id. at 53 (mentioning various corporate ATS cases such as Presbyterian Church of the Sudan, 244 F. Supp. 2d at 320–24, Burnett v. Al Baraka Investment, 274 F. Supp. 2d 86, 100 (D.D.C. 2003), Bowoto v. Chevron Texaco Corp., 312 F. Supp. 2d 1229, 1247 (N.D. Cal. 2004), and Bodner v. Banque Paribas, 114 F. Supp. 2d 117, 128 (E.D.N.Y. 2000), along with some non-corporate ATS cases like Mehinovic v. Vuckovic, 198 F. Supp. 2d 1322, 1355–1356 (N.D.Ga. 2002) and Hilao v. Estate of Marcos, 103 F.3d 767, 776 (9th Cir. 1996).Google Scholar
198 Id. Google Scholar
199 See id. at 123 (“Defendants have argued that ‘civil aiding-and-abetting liability’ may not be imposed on corporate entities for violations of the law of war and that, in any event, prudential considerations should preclude adjudication of Plaintiffs’ claims. Because Plaintiffs’ claims fail to assert a violation of international law norms that are universally accepted and as specific as the paradigmatic norms identified in Sosa, thereby resulting in a failure to establish a cognizable cause of action that gives rise to jurisdiction under the ATS, we need not address these secondary arguments.”).Google Scholar
200 Id. Google Scholar
201 Vietnam Ass'n for Victims of Agent Orange v. Dow Chemical Co., 517 F.3d 104, 123 n.5 (2d Cir. 2008).Google Scholar
202 See Mark Drumbl, Atrocity, Punishment, and International Law 23 (2007) (“History teaches that there is something novel in pursuing justice – instead of vengeance – in the aftermath of atrocity. This is a new endeavor. It is bold, fresh, exciting, at times anxious, and certainly lacking in experience. International criminal lawyers have stepped into this experiential void.”).Google Scholar
203 Khulumani v. Barclay Nat'l Bank Ltd., 504 F.3d 254, 270 (2d Cir. 2007) (Katzmann, J., concurring in part).Google Scholar
204 See, e.g., Presbyterian Church of Sudan v. Talisman Energy, Inc., 453 F. Supp. 2d 633, 666 (S.D.N.Y. 2006) (“The ICTY, ICTR and ICC each impose liability on individual defendants for aiding and abetting the commission of a crime. ICTY Statute at 7(1); ICTR at 6(1); Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, United Nations Diplomatic Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Establishment of an International Criminal Court, July 17, 1998, art. 25(3), U.N. Doc. A/ CONF.183/9 (1998) (“Rome Statute”).”).Google Scholar
205 Article 15(b)(3) provides a person can be held criminally responsible for aiding and abetting the commission of a crime.Google Scholar
206 Article 6 for the Statute for the Special Court of Sierra Leona allows for any “person who planned, instigated, ordered, committed or otherwise aided and abetted in the planning, preparation or execution of a crime” to be held liable.Google Scholar
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208 See Olah, Frank C., MNC Liability for International Human Rights Violations Under the Alien Tort Claims Act: A Review & Analysis of the Fundamental Jurisprudence and a Look at Aiding & Abetting Liability Under the Act, 25 Quinnipiac L. Rev. 751, 787–88 (2007) (mentioning the Unocal majority's treatment of this issue).Google Scholar
209 See id. (mentioning the Unocal majority's treatment of this issue) (citing Unocal, 395 F.3d at 949).Google Scholar
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212 For a brief discussion on the evolution of aiding and abetting liability in international law, see Herz, Richard, Text of Remarks: Corporate Alien Tort Liability and the Legacy of Nuremberg, 10 Gonzaga J. Int'l L. 76 (2006–2007) (“In international human rights law, this standard comes directly from Nuremberg. … These principles of aiding and abetting liability were directly incorporated into the jurisprudence of the International Criminal Tribunals for Rwanda and for the former Yugoslavia.”). To date, no international tribunal has held an organization or corporation accountable for aiding and abetting liability.Google Scholar
213 See Drumbl, Mark, ICTY Authenticates Genocide at Srebrenica and Convicts For Aiding and Abetting, 5 Melbourne J. Int'l Law 434, 437 (2004) (citing to Krstic Appeals Chamber, Case No. IT–38–33–A (19 April 2004) [7]).Google Scholar
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218 See id. at 824–25 (“Control Council Law No. 10, implementing the 1946 agreement, included a provision expressly providing for aiding and abetting liability. The statute provides: ‘[A] person is deemed to have committed a crime if he was (a) a principal; (b) was an accessory to the commission of any such crime or ordered or abetted the same or (c) took a consenting part therein or (d) was connected with plans or enterprises involving its commission.'”).Google Scholar
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252 See id. (“This action, evidently, did not hinder the conclusion of the Peace Agreement.”).Google Scholar
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