Tài liệu Corporate Responsibility under the Alien Tort Statute pdf

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

Th is book was accepted by the University of Hamburg Faculty of Law as a dissertion for the

degree of doctorate in law.

Th is 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, Th e 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

Th e 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 ...................................................... 17

I. Introduction ........................................................................................... 17

II. Possible Standards to Determine Actionable Norms ..................... 18

A. Customary International Law-Standard ..................................... 18

B. Defi nable, Universal, and Obligatory-Standard ........................ 20

C. Jus Cogens-Standard ....................................................................... 22

D. Wrongs Related to a Lawful Prize-Standard ............................. 23

E. Cause of Action under International Law-Standard ................ 26

III. Th e Supreme Court’s Decision in Sosa ............................................. 28

A. Factual Background ........................................................................ 30

B. Interpretation Given by the Majority ......................................... 31

1. Historic Authorization by Common Law ............................. 32

2. Standard of Elevated Level of Specifi city and

Acceptance .................................................................................. 36

3. Reasons for Narrow Interpretation ........................................ 36

4. Exact Meaning of New Standard ............................................ 37

C. Minority’s Criticism of the Majority View ................................ 41

1. Th e Erie Precedent .................................................................... 41

2. General Constitutional Discourse .......................................... 44

3. Majority’s Response to Scalia and Analysis .......................... 46

IV. Conclusions ............................................................................................ 50

vi Contents

Chapter Two: International Criminal Law .............................................. 53

I. Introduction ........................................................................................... 53

II. Genocide ................................................................................................. 55

A. Actionability .................................................................................... 55

B. Enforceable Scope of the Defi nition ............................................ 57

1. Protected Groups ...................................................................... 58

2. Individual Acts .......................................................................... 61

3. Mental Element: Specifi c Intent ............................................. 63

III. Crimes against Humanity .................................................................... 66

A. Actionability .................................................................................... 66

B. Enforceable Scope of Defi nition .................................................. 67

1. Attack on a Civilian Population ............................................. 68

2. Mental Element ......................................................................... 71

3. Individual Acts .......................................................................... 71

4. Crime of Apartheid ................................................................... 72

IV. War Crimes ............................................................................................ 75

A. Actionability .................................................................................... 77

B. Enforceable Scope of Defi nition .................................................. 79

1. Overall Requirements ............................................................... 79

(a) Applicability Ratione Temporis and Loci ...................... 79

(b) Existence of Armed Confl ict ........................................... 80

(c) Nexus to Armed Confl ict ................................................. 80

(d) Mental Element .................................................................. 81

2. Particular Crimes ...................................................................... 81

(a) War Crimes against Persons ........................................... 81

(b) War Crimes against Property .......................................... 84

(c) Enforcement of International Humanitarian Law

in General? .......................................................................... 84

V. Conclusions ............................................................................................ 86

Chapter Th ree: Civil and Political Rights ................................................. 89

I. Introduction ........................................................................................... 89

II. Th e Right to Life ................................................................................... 91

A. Actionability .................................................................................... 91

B. Enforceable Scope of Defi nition .................................................. 92

1. Extra-Judicial Killing ................................................................ 92

2. Death Penalty ............................................................................. 94

(a) Most Serious Crimes ......................................................... 96

(b) Minimum Fair Trial .......................................................... 97

(c) Nulla poena sine lege ......................................................... 97

(d) Competent court ................................................................ 97

Contents vii

III. Torture ................................................................................................. 98

A. Actionability .................................................................................. 98

B. Enforceable Scope of Defi nition ................................................ 100

IV. Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment ..................................... 101

A. Actionability .................................................................................. 102

1. Implant from Domestic Law to Increase

Determinateness ...................................................................... 104

2. Jurisprudence of New Tribunals as Guiding Force .......... 106

3. Result ........................................................................................ 106

B. Enforceable Scope of Defi nition ................................................ 107

V. Arbitrary Detention ........................................................................... 107

A. Actionability .................................................................................. 107

1. Courts’ Approach in the Filartiga Era ................................ 108

2. Sosa Decision on Arbitrary Detention ................................ 108

B. Enforceable Scope of Defi nition ................................................ 109

VI. Right to Informed Consent to Medical Experimentation .......... 110

A. Actionability .................................................................................. 110

1. Factual Allegations in Abdullahi v. Pfi zer .......................... 110

2. Pfi zer Reasoning ...................................................................... 112

(a) Nuremberg Code ............................................................. 112

(b) Declaration of Helsinki and CIOMS Guidelines ....... 114

(c) Th e Second Sentence of Article 7 of the ICCPR ........ 115

(d) Outcome ........................................................................... 115

B. Enforceable Scope of Defi nition ................................................ 115

VII. Freedom of Expression ..................................................................... 116

A. Actionability .................................................................................. 116

B. Enforceable Scope of Defi nition ................................................ 119

VIII. Conclusions ......................................................................................... 120

Chapter Four: Labor Standards .................................................................. 123

I. Introduction ........................................................................................ 123

II. Core Labor Standards ....................................................................... 124

A. Forced Labor ................................................................................. 125

1. Actionability ............................................................................ 125

(a) Cases Relating to World War II ................................... 126

(b) Unocal Case ...................................................................... 131

2. Enforceable Scope of Defi nition ........................................... 132

B. Prohibition on Discrimination .................................................. 133

1. Actionability ............................................................................ 133

2. Enforceable Scope of Defi nition ........................................... 134

C. Prohibition on Child Labor ....................................................... 134

D. Freedom of Association .............................................................. 141

viii Contents

1. Reluctance towards Recognition as Actionable ................... 141

2. Indirect Enforcement of Freedom of Association ............... 146

III. Other Labor Standards ......................................................................... 147

IV. Conclusions ............................................................................................ 149

Chapter Five: Environmental Destruction ............................................... 151

I. Introduction ........................................................................................... 151

II. International Environmental Law ...................................................... 152

A. Amlon Metals and Stockholm Principle 21 ............................... 153

B. Aguinda and Rio Principle 2 ........................................................ 156

C. Beanal and General Principles of Law ........................................ 160

D. Sarei v. Rio Tinto Plc. ..................................................................... 165

1. Factual Background .................................................................. 165

2. Principle of Sustainable Development ................................... 166

3. UNCLOS ..................................................................................... 166

III. Environment-Related Human Rights Law ....................................... 167

A. Sarei: Linking Human Rights to Environment ......................... 168

1. Soft Law Developments ............................................................ 168

2. Right to Health .......................................................................... 169

3. Right to Life ............................................................................... 171

4. Response of Judge Modrow .................................................... 175

5. Analysis ....................................................................................... 176

B. Flores: Second Circuit’s Decision on Egregious Standard ....... 179

1. Factual Background .................................................................. 180

2. District Court Decision ............................................................ 181

3. Court of Appeals ....................................................................... 181

(a) General Human Rights Argument ................................. 181

(b) Egregious Approach in Particular .................................. 184

C. Procedural Argument? ................................................................... 185

IV. Environment-Related International Humanitarian Law? .............. 186

V. Conclusions ............................................................................................ 190

PART III

CORPORATE PARTICIPATION COVERED

Chapter Six: Application to TNCs ............................................................. 195

I. Introduction ........................................................................................... 195

II. Presbyterian Church of Sudan ............................................................ 196

A. Previous Ignorance of Issue .......................................................... 197

B. Partial Subjectivity of TNCs under International Law ............ 200

Contents ix

III. Agent Orange ........................................................................................ 205

A. Torts Law Policy Argument ......................................................... 205

B. Systematic Argument from TVPA .............................................. 206

C. Historic Argument ......................................................................... 207

D. Fragmentary Nature of International Law ................................. 208

IV. Guidance by Sosa? ................................................................................ 208

V. Conclusions ............................................................................................ 209

Chapter Seven: Norms that Can Be Violated Only by State Actors .... 211

I. Introduction ........................................................................................... 211

II. Th e State Action Requirement ............................................................ 212

III. Color of Law-Jurisprudence as Litmus Test .................................... 214

A. Justifi cation of Incorporation of Color of

Law-Jurisprudence .......................................................................... 214

1. Th e Forti Reference to 42 U.S.C. § 1983 ............................... 214

2. Kadic Precedent of the Second Circuit ................................. 216

3. Analogy to TVPA since 1992 .................................................. 217

4. Wording of ATS Itself .............................................................. 217

5. Better Alternative of International Standards? .................... 217

(a) Inadequacy of Regulation in TNC-as-Main

Perpetrators Constellations .............................................. 218

(b) Remaining Need to Determine Individual and/or

Corporate Responsibility .................................................. 222

B. Domestic Tests as Applied to Determine State Action ........... 223

1. Joint Action Approach ............................................................. 224

2. Nexus Approach ........................................................................ 228

3. Symbiotic Relation Approach ................................................. 230

4. Public Function ......................................................................... 232

5. Proximate Cause Test ............................................................... 233

IV. Practical Abandonment of Violation of International

Law-Requirement? ................................................................................ 238

A. Host State Responsibility by Omission ....................................... 239

B. Home State Responsibility ............................................................ 240

V. Impact of Sosa and Post-Sosa Developments .................................. 242

VI. Conclusions ............................................................................................ 243

Chapter Eight: Norms that Can Be Violated by Everyone .................... 245

I. Introduction ........................................................................................... 245

II. Recognized Exceptions ......................................................................... 245

A. War Crimes and Genocide ........................................................... 246

B. Crimes against Humanity ............................................................. 249

C. Forced Labor ................................................................................... 250

x Contents

D. Aircraft Hijacking ........................................................................... 250

E. Human Rights Violations as Part of Genocide or

War Crimes ..................................................................................... 251

III. Participation in the Violation ............................................................. 252

A. Legislative Gap and Methodology for Judicial Gap-Filling ..... 252

1. Law-Making Authority ............................................................. 252

2. Branch of Law from Which Rules Are Derived .................. 253

3. Methodology .............................................................................. 256

B. Recognized Modes of Participation ............................................. 257

1. Conspiracy .................................................................................. 257

2. Command Responsibility ......................................................... 259

3. Aiding and Abetting Liability ................................................. 259

(a) Mehinovic v. Vuckovic ...................................................... 261

(b) Doe v. Unocal ..................................................................... 263

(c) Presbyterian Church of Sudan Case ................................ 265

(d) Apartheid Case ................................................................... 269

(e) Cabello and Aldana ........................................................... 274

IV. Conclusions ............................................................................................ 275

PART IV

DEFENSES AND LIMITATIONS

Chapter Nine: Corporate Shield ................................................................ 279

I. Introduction ........................................................................................... 279

II. Bowoto Case: Liability for Acts of Subsidiaries ............................... 280

A. Factual Background and Context ................................................ 280

B. Cornerstone Concept of Limited Liability ................................. 281

C. Exceptions and Bypasses to the General Rule ........................... 285

1. Piercing the Corporate Veil .................................................... 285

2. Application of Enterprise Principles to ATS? ...................... 291

3. Agency Principle ....................................................................... 296

4. Ratifi cation ................................................................................. 300

III. Sinaltrainal Case: Liability for the Acts of Business Partners ....... 300

A. Factual Background and Context ................................................ 300

B. Plaintiff s’ Strategy ........................................................................... 301

C. Judge Martinez’s Reasoning .......................................................... 301

IV. Conclusions ............................................................................................ 302

Contents xi

Chapter Ten: Lack of Personal Jurisdiction ............................................. 305

I. Introduction ........................................................................................... 305

II. Total’s Reliance on Lack of Personal Jurisdiction ........................... 306

A. Specifi c Jurisdiction ........................................................................ 309

1. Purposeful Availment ............................................................... 309

2. Relation between Claims and Contacts ................................. 310

3. Reasonableness .......................................................................... 311

B. General Jurisdiction: Agency Test for Jurisdiction ................... 311

III. Th e Lenient Agency Test in Wiwa .................................................... 315

A. Factual Background and Context ................................................ 315

B. Agency Analysis .............................................................................. 316

C. Incidential to Stock Listing? ......................................................... 317

D. Fairness Test .................................................................................... 318

E. Result ................................................................................................ 321

IV. Conclusions ............................................................................................ 321

Chapter Eleven: Forum non Conveniens ................................................. 323

I. Introduction ........................................................................................... 323

II. Th e Foreign Court as an Available and Adequate Alternative ..... 327

A. Availability of the Foreign Court ................................................. 327

1. Dismissal Subject to Conditions ............................................. 328

2. Retaliatory Legislation .............................................................. 329

B. Adequacy of the Forum ................................................................. 330

III. Balancing of Private and Public Interests ......................................... 334

A. Jota Case ........................................................................................... 334

1. District Court Approach .......................................................... 334

(a) Private Interest Considerations ....................................... 334

(b) Public Interest Considerations ........................................ 337

2. Appeal Decision ........................................................................ 338

B. Wiwa v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. ........................................... 340

1. Residency .................................................................................... 341

2. Policy Interest ............................................................................ 341

3. Relative (In-)Convenience ....................................................... 342

4. Legal Implications ..................................................................... 342

IV. Conclusions ............................................................................................ 344

Chapter Twelve: Nonjusticiability Issues .................................................. 347

I. Introduction ........................................................................................... 347

II. General Inapplicability of Nonjusticiability Doctrines in

ATS Cases ............................................................................................... 348

A. Early Case Law ................................................................................ 348

xii Contents

1. Act of State Doctrine ................................................................ 348

2. Political Question Doctrine ..................................................... 349

3. Comity Doctrine ........................................................................ 353

B. Political Context ............................................................................. 355

III. Emerging Limits of Justiciability ........................................................ 356

A. Reparation Treaties and Executive Agreements ....................... 356

B. War-Related Claims? ..................................................................... 358

1. Sarei v. Rio Tinto ....................................................................... 359

2. Mujica v. Occidental Petroleum Corp. ................................... 367

3. Agent Orange Litigation ........................................................... 369

IV. Guidance Given in Sosa ....................................................................... 371

V. Conclusions ............................................................................................ 372

Chapter Th irteen: Duress ............................................................................ 375

I. Introduction ........................................................................................... 375

II. Reliance on Duress in the Unocal Case ............................................ 375

A. Factual Background and Context ................................................ 375

B. Unocal’s Defense Strategy ............................................................. 377

C. Judge Lew’s Reading of Industrialists’ Post War Trials ........... 378

1. Defense under the Statute of the International

Criminal Court .......................................................................... 378

2. ICTY Holding on Duress ........................................................ 380

3. Reasoning of the Industrialists’ Trials ................................... 382

D. Consequences for the Unocal Case ............................................. 388

III. Rejection of Duress in the Agent Orange Case ................................ 389

A. Factual Background ........................................................................ 389

B. Commercial Order Is Insuffi cient ................................................ 390

IV. Conclusions ............................................................................................ 391

Bibliography ................................................................................................... 393

Index ............................................................................................................... 409

Acknowledgments

Th is book was accepted by the Faculty of Law of the University of Hamburg as

the dissertation for my doctorate in law in the spring of 2008. It was updated

to its current form for publication.

I owe special thanks to Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. Rüdiger Wolfrum, professor of

international law at the University of Heidelberg, director of the Max Planck

Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law and judge at the

International Tribunal for the Law of the Sea, for his supervision and timely

review of my submissions and his support when I was a senior research

fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and Inter￾national Law in Heidelberg. I am likewise grateful to Prof. Dr. Stefan Oeter,

professor of international law at the University of Hamburg and director of

the Institute for International Aff airs, for reviewing the dissertation as the

second supervisor.

Th e research topic as such dates back to my studies at the Law School of

the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor where Prof. Robert Howse and

Prof. J. Christopher McCrudden triggered my idea of regulating multinational

enterprises through torts law.

I wrote most of the book during my time at the Max Planck Institute for

Comparative Public Law and International Law and I profi ted from countless

lunches, meetings and other events where I received and exchanged comments,

ideas and suggestions from friends and colleagues who are quite numerous

to mention but to whom I am equally grateful. I also express heartfelt thanks

for the logistic support provided by the Max Planck Institute’s library and

secretariat.

I also thank my wife, Mylin Sapiera-Koebele, for her love, encouragement,

comments and editorial support.

Lastly, I am very fortunate to have the support and love of my family in

writing this book. I am honored to be the father of Aurel Miguel and the son

of Armin and Margot Koebele.