United States Ninth Circuit

The circuit court establishes that certain Alien Tort Statute (ATS) claims are appropriately considered for exhaustion under both domestic prudential standards and core principles of international law. Where the "nexus" to the U.S. is weak, courts should carefully consider the question of exhaustion, particularly with respect to claims that do not involve matters of "universal concern." Matters of "universal concern" are offenses "for which a state has jurisdiction to punish without regard to territoriality or the nationality of the offenders." In a suit brought under the ATS claiming that various war crimes, crimes against humanity, racial discrimination, and environmental torts arose out of defendant-Rio Tinto's mining operations on Bougainville, Papua New Guinea, the matter is remanded for the exhaustion inquiry using such framework.

Appellate Information

• Argued 10/11/2007
• Decided 12/16/2008
• Published 12/16/2008

Judges

• Before:  MARY M. SCHROEDER, HARRY PREGERSON, STEPHEN REINHARDT, ANDREW J. KLEINFELD, BARRY G. SILVERMAN, M. MARGARET McKEOWN, MARSHA S. BERZON, JOHNNIE B. RAWLINSON, CONSUELO M. CALLAHAN, CARLOS T. BEA, and SANDRA S. IKUTA, Circuit Judges.

Court

• United States Ninth Circuit

Counsel

• For Appellant:
  
• Robert M. Loeb (argued), U.S. Department of Justice, Washington, DC, for amicus curiae the United States of America.


• For Appellees:
  
• Steve W. Berman (argued), R. Brent Walton, and Nick Styant-Browne, Hagens Berman LLP, Seattle, WA;  Paul Luvera and Joel D. Cunningham, Luvera, Barnett, Brindley, Beninger & Cunningham, Seattle, WA;  and Paul Stocker, Mill Creek, WA, for plaintiffs-appellants/cross-appellees., James J. Brosnahan, Jack W. Londen (argued), and Peter J. Stern, Morrison & Foerster LLP, San Francisco, CA, for defendants-appellees/cross-appellants.