...I respond to the repeated claim that the Alien Tort Statute (“ATS”) should be interpreted to grant jurisdiction only over international law violations committed within the United States or by U.S. citizens, because those are the violations for which the U.S. government could have been held responsible under international law. That view ignores evidence that the purpose of the ATS was to ensure that aliens seeking damages for violations of the law of nations – including piracy – would have the option of filing all such claims in federal, not state, court.