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Corporate Responsibility under the Alien Tort Statute Developments in International Law VOLUME 61 Corporate Responsibility under the Alien Tort Statute Enforcement of International Law through US Torts Law By Michael Koebele LEIDEN • BOSTON 2009 This book was accepted by the University of Hamburg Faculty of Law as a dissertion for the degree of doctorate in law. This book is printed on acid-free paper. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Koebele, Michael. Corporate responsibility under the Alien Tort Statute : enforcement of international law through US torts law / by Michael Koebele. p. cm. — (Developments in international law ; v. 61) Includes bibliographical references. ISBN 978-90-04-17365-1 (hardback : alk. paper) 1. United States. Alien Tort Claims Act. 2. Government liability—United States. 3. Tort liability of corporations—United States. 4. Government liability (International law) 5. Tort liability of corporations. I. Title. KF1309.5K64 2009 342.7308’8—dc22 2009009080 ISSN 0924-5332 ISBN 978 90 04 17365 1 Copyright 2009 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands. Koninklijke Brill NV incorporates the imprints Brill, Hotei Publishing, IDC Publishers, Martinus Nijhoff Publishers and VSP. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, translated, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission from the publisher. Authorization to photocopy items for internal or personal use is granted by Koninklijke Brill NV provided that the appropriate fees are paid directly to The Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Suite 910, Danvers, MA 01923, USA. Fees are subject to change. printed in the netherlands Contents Acknowledgments ......................................................................................... xiii PART I INTRODUCTION Introduction ................................................................................................... 3 PART II INTERNATIONAL LAW COVERED Chapter One: Actionability Standards ...................................................... I. Introduction ........................................................................................... II. Possible Standards to Determine Actionable Norms ..................... A. Customary International Law-Standard ..................................... B. Definable, Universal, and Obligatory-Standard ........................ C. Jus Cogens-Standard ....................................................................... D. Wrongs Related to a Lawful Prize-Standard ............................. E. Cause of Action under International Law-Standard ................ III. The Supreme Court’s Decision in Sosa ............................................. A. Factual Background ........................................................................ B. Interpretation Given by the Majority ......................................... 1. Historic Authorization by Common Law ............................. 2. Standard of Elevated Level of Specificity and Acceptance .................................................................................. 3. Reasons for Narrow Interpretation ........................................ 4. Exact Meaning of New Standard ............................................ C. Minority’s Criticism of the Majority View ................................ 1. The Erie Precedent .................................................................... 2. General Constitutional Discourse .......................................... 3. Majority’s Response to Scalia and Analysis .......................... IV. Conclusions ............................................................................................ 17 17 18 18 20 22 23 26 28 30 31 32 36 36 37 41 41 44 46 50 vi Contents Chapter Two: International Criminal Law .............................................. I. Introduction ........................................................................................... II. Genocide ................................................................................................. A. Actionability .................................................................................... B. Enforceable Scope of the Definition ............................................ 1. Protected Groups ...................................................................... 2. Individual Acts .......................................................................... 3. Mental Element: Specific Intent ............................................. III. Crimes against Humanity .................................................................... A. Actionability .................................................................................... B. Enforceable Scope of Definition .................................................. 1. Attack on a Civilian Population ............................................. 2. Mental Element ......................................................................... 3. Individual Acts .......................................................................... 4. Crime of Apartheid ................................................................... IV. War Crimes ............................................................................................ A. Actionability .................................................................................... B. Enforceable Scope of Definition .................................................. 1. Overall Requirements ............................................................... (a) Applicability Ratione Temporis and Loci ...................... (b) Existence of Armed Conflict ........................................... (c) Nexus to Armed Conflict ................................................. (d) Mental Element .................................................................. 2. Particular Crimes ...................................................................... (a) War Crimes against Persons ........................................... (b) War Crimes against Property .......................................... (c) Enforcement of International Humanitarian Law in General? .......................................................................... V. Conclusions ............................................................................................ 53 53 55 55 57 58 61 63 66 66 67 68 71 71 72 75 77 79 79 79 80 80 81 81 81 84 84 86 Chapter Three: Civil and Political Rights ................................................. I. Introduction ........................................................................................... II. The Right to Life ................................................................................... A. Actionability .................................................................................... B. Enforceable Scope of Definition .................................................. 1. Extra-Judicial Killing ................................................................ 2. Death Penalty ............................................................................. (a) Most Serious Crimes ......................................................... (b) Minimum Fair Trial .......................................................... (c) Nulla poena sine lege ......................................................... (d) Competent court ................................................................ 89 89 91 91 92 92 94 96 97 97 97 Contents vii III. Torture ................................................................................................. A. Actionability .................................................................................. B. Enforceable Scope of Definition ................................................ IV. Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment ..................................... A. Actionability .................................................................................. 1. Implant from Domestic Law to Increase Determinateness ...................................................................... 2. Jurisprudence of New Tribunals as Guiding Force .......... 3. Result ........................................................................................ B. Enforceable Scope of Definition ................................................ V. Arbitrary Detention ........................................................................... A. Actionability .................................................................................. 1. Courts’ Approach in the Filartiga Era ................................ 2. Sosa Decision on Arbitrary Detention ................................ B. Enforceable Scope of Definition ................................................ VI. Right to Informed Consent to Medical Experimentation .......... A. Actionability .................................................................................. 1. Factual Allegations in Abdullahi v. Pfizer .......................... 2. Pfizer Reasoning ...................................................................... (a) Nuremberg Code ............................................................. (b) Declaration of Helsinki and CIOMS Guidelines ....... (c) The Second Sentence of Article 7 of the ICCPR ........ (d) Outcome ........................................................................... B. Enforceable Scope of Definition ................................................ VII. Freedom of Expression ..................................................................... A. Actionability .................................................................................. B. Enforceable Scope of Definition ................................................ VIII. Conclusions ......................................................................................... 98 98 100 101 102 104 106 106 107 107 107 108 108 109 110 110 110 112 112 114 115 115 115 116 116 119 120 Chapter Four: Labor Standards .................................................................. I. Introduction ........................................................................................ II. Core Labor Standards ....................................................................... A. Forced Labor ................................................................................. 1. Actionability ............................................................................ (a) Cases Relating to World War II ................................... (b) Unocal Case ...................................................................... 2. Enforceable Scope of Definition ........................................... B. Prohibition on Discrimination .................................................. 1. Actionability ............................................................................ 2. Enforceable Scope of Definition ........................................... C. Prohibition on Child Labor ....................................................... D. Freedom of Association .............................................................. 123 123 124 125 125 126 131 132 133 133 134 134 141 viii Contents 1. Reluctance towards Recognition as Actionable ................... 2. Indirect Enforcement of Freedom of Association ............... III. Other Labor Standards ......................................................................... IV. Conclusions ............................................................................................ 141 146 147 149 Chapter Five: Environmental Destruction ............................................... I. Introduction ........................................................................................... II. International Environmental Law ...................................................... A. Amlon Metals and Stockholm Principle 21 ............................... B. Aguinda and Rio Principle 2 ........................................................ C. Beanal and General Principles of Law ........................................ D. Sarei v. Rio Tinto Plc. ..................................................................... 1. Factual Background .................................................................. 2. Principle of Sustainable Development ................................... 3. UNCLOS ..................................................................................... III. Environment-Related Human Rights Law ....................................... A. Sarei: Linking Human Rights to Environment ......................... 1. Soft Law Developments ............................................................ 2. Right to Health .......................................................................... 3. Right to Life ............................................................................... 4. Response of Judge Modrow .................................................... 5. Analysis ....................................................................................... B. Flores: Second Circuit’s Decision on Egregious Standard ....... 1. Factual Background .................................................................. 2. District Court Decision ............................................................ 3. Court of Appeals ....................................................................... (a) General Human Rights Argument ................................. (b) Egregious Approach in Particular .................................. C. Procedural Argument? ................................................................... IV. Environment-Related International Humanitarian Law? .............. V. Conclusions ............................................................................................ 151 151 152 153 156 160 165 165 166 166 167 168 168 169 171 175 176 179 180 181 181 181 184 185 186 190 PART III CORPORATE PARTICIPATION COVERED Chapter Six: Application to TNCs ............................................................. I. Introduction ........................................................................................... II. Presbyterian Church of Sudan ............................................................ A. Previous Ignorance of Issue .......................................................... B. Partial Subjectivity of TNCs under International Law ............ 195 195 196 197 200 Contents ix III. Agent Orange ........................................................................................ A. Torts Law Policy Argument ......................................................... B. Systematic Argument from TVPA .............................................. C. Historic Argument ......................................................................... D. Fragmentary Nature of International Law ................................. IV. Guidance by Sosa? ................................................................................ V. Conclusions ............................................................................................ 205 205 206 207 208 208 209 Chapter Seven: Norms that Can Be Violated Only by State Actors .... I. Introduction ........................................................................................... II. The State Action Requirement ............................................................ III. Color of Law-Jurisprudence as Litmus Test .................................... A. Justification of Incorporation of Color of Law-Jurisprudence .......................................................................... 1. The Forti Reference to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 ............................... 2. Kadic Precedent of the Second Circuit ................................. 3. Analogy to TVPA since 1992 .................................................. 4. Wording of ATS Itself .............................................................. 5. Better Alternative of International Standards? .................... (a) Inadequacy of Regulation in TNC-as-Main Perpetrators Constellations .............................................. (b) Remaining Need to Determine Individual and/or Corporate Responsibility .................................................. B. Domestic Tests as Applied to Determine State Action ........... 1. Joint Action Approach ............................................................. 2. Nexus Approach ........................................................................ 3. Symbiotic Relation Approach ................................................. 4. Public Function ......................................................................... 5. Proximate Cause Test ............................................................... IV. Practical Abandonment of Violation of International Law-Requirement? ................................................................................ A. Host State Responsibility by Omission ....................................... B. Home State Responsibility ............................................................ V. Impact of Sosa and Post-Sosa Developments .................................. VI. Conclusions ............................................................................................ 211 211 212 214 238 239 240 242 243 Chapter Eight: Norms that Can Be Violated by Everyone .................... I. Introduction ........................................................................................... II. Recognized Exceptions ......................................................................... A. War Crimes and Genocide ........................................................... B. Crimes against Humanity ............................................................. C. Forced Labor ................................................................................... 245 245 245 246 249 250 214 214 216 217 217 217 218 222 223 224 228 230 232 233