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Article

9 Sep 2013

Author:
Marco Simons, Earth Rights International

Post-Kiobel roundup: Apartheid case is not dismissed, but may soon be; some positive decisions from other courts [USA]

The first wave of decisions interpreting the Supreme Court’s ruling in Kiobel continues to come down, and it’s a mixed bag. Perhaps most important is a terrible opinion by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals, the court that issued the original Kiobel ruling, in the apartheid litigation. Two other decisions, however, give some hope that many human rights cases under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) may continue after Kiobel…[Earth Rights International] is also proceeding with our ATS case against Chiquita for funding paramilitary death squads in Colombia. In that case, the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals is now considering the effect of the Kiobel decision on the case. If the court follows the reasoning of the judges in the SMUG v. Lively and Ahmed v. Magan cases, our ATS claims against Chiquita should continue – and Chiquita won’t be the last corporation we sue for human rights abuses.

Part of the following timelines

Rio Tinto lawsuit (re Papua New Guinea)

Apartheid reparations lawsuits (re So. Africa)

Abu Ghraib lawsuits against CACI, Titan (now L-3)