Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA)

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Seated under a portrait of the Saudi monarch, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo meets with Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at Al Salam Palace in the Red Sea port of Jeddah on June 24, 2019.

Why the State Dept Should Reject Saudi Crown Prince MBS’s Claimed “Immunity”

The State Department refused to recognize head-of-state immunity for another Crown Prince, the UAE’s Mohamed bin Zayed in 2010. The same adherence to international law should…
People carry bags of cocoa at a cocoa exporter's in Abidjan, on July 3, 2019.

Nestlé & Cargill v. Doe Series: Shielding American Corporations from Liability Undermines the United States’ Moral Authority

Corporate defendants argue that courts should let Congress decide if and when to impose liability for human rights abuses abroad. But Congress has already spoken: through the Trafficking…
The words "Cargill is Guilty" are projected in lights onto the face of the U.S. Supreme Court in Washington, D.C. on November 30, 2020 as part of a protest.

Nestlé & Cargill v. Doe Series: Holding the Aiders and Abettors of Atrocity to Account

Do the Alien Tort Statute and Torture Victim Protection Act apply to those who aid in atrocities? Human rights groups - who use the statutes to prosecute these crimes - say yes.
Robert H. Jackson’s opening statement at the Nuremberg Trials.

A Commander’s Duty to Punish War Crimes: Past U.S. Recognition

A comprehensive, sweeping analysis of "the United States’ own long-standing views that a commander’s failure to punish war crimes by his subordinates may itself amount to war…
The cocoa bean packing warehouse sits empty in the Sampaka Farm on August 08, 2018 in Malabo, Equatorial Guinea. The warehouse is dark with only two skylights and a ladder with wheels stands toward the center of the room.

Nestlé & Cargill v. Doe Series: Rethinking the Alien Tort Statute

Tuesday's Supreme Court argument tackled thorny questions of extraterritoriality, customary international law, and corporate liability. But were any of these questions necessary?…
Saudi Arabia's Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman attends a key summit of the 57-member Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) in the Saudi holy city of Mecca on June 1, 2019.

Saudi Arabia’s MBS Served with Extrajudicial Killing Lawsuit – Via WhatsApp

Electronic service of process -- including via social media -- has become an increasingly common practice. Gone are the days of the pizza delivery ruse.
Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (C) arrives to attend a session during the Future Investment Initiative (FII) conference in the capital Riyadh on October 24, 2018.

US Suit Against Saudi Prince for Attempted Killing of Ex-Insider Faces Hurdles

Ex-Saudi intelligence official Saad Aljabri's claim over an alleged assassination attempt faces issues including jurisdiction and immunity.
Syrian Army defector "Caesar," (in a blue hooded jacket) who has smuggled out of Syria more than 50,000 photographs that document the torture and execution of more than 10,000 dissidents, listens to an interpreter during a briefing before House Foreign Affairs Committee July 31, 2014 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

Balancing Syria Advocacy and Witness Safety: Have We Lost Sight?

Groups documenting war crimes and other violations must revisit their methods of evidence collection and improve compliance with “do no harm” principles.
Sri Lankan Defence Ministry Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa rides in a jeep during a Victory Day parade rehearsal in Colombo on May 17, 2013. Military personnel in uniform surround him.

Suit Against Sri Lankan Presidential Candidate Rajapaksa Dismissed on Common Law Immunity Grounds

Among other deficiencies, the ruling failed to acknowledge jurisprudence from other courts indicating that jus cogens violations can never constitute “official” acts entitling…
Supporters of former secretary to the ministry of defence and presidential candidate, Gotabaya Rajapaksa, celebrate outside Sri Lanka's Court of Appeal in Colombo on October 4, 2019, after a petition challenging his Sri Lankan nationality was taken to court and then dismissed.

Sri Lankan War Criminal Gotabaya Rajapaksa May Escape Accountability Yet Again, This Time by Running for President

Recent developments in a pair of human rights cases in U.S. federal court against former Sri Lankan Defense Minister and current presidential hopeful Gotabaya (“Gota”) Rajapakse…
Sri Lankan Defence Ministry Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa rides in a jeep with military officers during a Victory Day parade rehearsal in Colombo on May 17, 2013.

BREAKING: Sri Lankan Presidential Hopeful Sued in Federal Court for Human Rights Violations

Gotabaya Rajapaksa was sued in federal court in the Central District of California by a Canadian citizen who alleges he was detained and tortured from 2007-2010 by the Terrorism…
St. Peter's Lutheran Church in the Liberian capital Monrovia.

Liberian War Crimes Claims Survive in Alien Tort Statute Case

Victims of human rights abuses abroad scored a win recently, when the U.S. District Court for Eastern Pennsylvania ruled in Jane W. et al. v. Thomas that claims involving war crimes…
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