Amy Howe for SCOTUSBlog previews oral arguments in an international human rights case.  Part of the Judiciary Act of 1789, the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) allows foreign citizens to sue in U.S. courts for violations of international law. Later today, the justices will hear oral argument in Nestlé USA v. Doe I and Cargill, Inc. v. Doe I, which will determine whether an ATS lawsuit brought by former child slaves in Ivory Coast can continue. “Plaintiffs allege that the two U.S. companies facilitated human-rights abuses on the plantations where children worked. The companies warn that allowing lawsuits like this one to go forward could be a drain on the U.S. economy and cause problems for U.S. foreign policy, while the plaintiffs counter that these are exactly the kinds of lawsuits that Congress intended to address with the ATS.”

KJ