Corporate Responsibility under the Alien Tort Statute: Enforcement of International Law through US Torts Law »

Michael Koebele is a practising lawyer in an international law firm in Brussels. Before joining private practice, he was a Senior Research Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law in Heidelberg, Germany.

The Alien Tort Statute (also referred to as the Alien Tort Claims Act) is a US statute that provides a cause of action for violations of international law. While originally used against former dictators and military officials who fled to the U.S. after the respective governments in their home countries have been removed, human rights activists are now targeting transnational corporations or multinational enterprises for human rights violations in connection with their investments made outside the United States. This book examines and analyzes corporate liability under the Alien Tort Statute.