From the United States to Canada: The Search for Transnational Justice Moves North
| Autor | Noah Benjamin Novogrodsky |
| Cargo | University of Wyoming College of Law, Laramie, USA |
| Páginas | 215-225 |
FROM THE UNITED STATES TO CANADA:
THE SEARCH FOR TRANSNATIONAL JUSTICE
MOVES NORTH
noaH BenJaMin novoGrodsky
1
Abstract
This essay explores the slow death of the Alien Tort Statute in
the United States and the use of Canadian courts as an alter-
native for victims of human rights abuses seeking a court wiling
to entertain extraterritorial claims. In Kiobel, the U.S. Supreme
Court eliminated all ATCA cases originating from a foreign-ba-
sed controversy, save those that closely “touch and concern” the
United States. At roughly the same time, Canadian courts have
begun to entertain cases against foreign states that sponsor te-
rrorism, Canadian mining companies accused of complicity in
human rights violations committed abroad, and enforcement of
foreign judgments. In addition, at least one high-prole Cana-
dian rm has engaged in a unique alternative dispute resolution
mechanism aimed at providing compensation for serious crimi-
nal activity and the government of Canada is encouraging simi-
larly situated Canadian rms to do the same thing. Taken as a
whole, the shift from the U.S. to Canada for this form of justice is
likely to 1) promote a tighter nexus between U.S. and Canadian
based human rights violators and any court likely to sit in civil
judgment of such actions, and 2) deny victims of atrocities that
do not t into select categories any opportunity at redress.
Key words: Human rights; sovereign immunity; extraterritorial claims; Alien Tort Statute;
remedies.
Beginni ng in the early 1980s, the Al ien Tort Claims Act (1789) (also known as
the Alien Tort Statute or ATS), occupied pride of place for human rights advocates
pressing civil cl aims for serious abuses committed abroad.2 Under the Act, victims of
serious abuses led c ivil cases in U.S. federa l courts in an ef fort to remedy atrocities
committed around the world, many of which had litt le connection to the United
States. This form of tran snational public law litigation sought to vindicate rights and
1 University of Wyoming College of Law, Laramie, USA (nnovogro@uwyo.edu).
2 See Filartiga v. Pena-Irala (1980) (permitting the family of a Paraguayan torture victim to seek dam-
ages under the ATS against a foreign defendant present in the U.S. and properly served).
Para continuar leyendo
Solicita tu prueba