Proceedings of the 98th ASIL Annual Meeting, Introductory Remarks, The Alien Tort Claims Act Under Attack

Authors

• Mark A. Drumbl, Washington and Lee University School of LawFollow

Document Type

Conference Proceeding

Publication Title

Proceedings of the 98th ASIL Annual Meeting

Publication Date

2004

Abstract

The Alien Tort Claims Act, or Alien Tort Statute, provides that the district courts shall have original jurisdiction over any private 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 act dates from 1789 (the First Congress). It essentially lay dormant until the 1980 decision by the Second Circuit in Filartiga v. Pena-Irala.

Comments

Posted with permission from the copyright owner.

Recommended Citation

Mark A. Drumbl, Introductory Remarks, The Alien Tort Claims Act Under Attack, 98 Am. Soc'y Int'l L. Proc. 49 (2004).