Human Rights Litigation Under the ATCA as a Proxy For Environmental Claims

Suing corporations in U.S. courts for environmental harms abroad may soon be possible under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA). Mhile several cases have been brought alleging environmental torts under the ATCA, no case has yet yielded corporate liability. Until courts accept environmental principles as part of the law of nations, and therefore actionable under the ATCA, plaintiffs should use remedies available for human rights claims as proxies for their environmental claims. Because corporate international environmental law violations are frequently linked to human rights abuses, well-established human rights causes of action should be used to usher in the emerging justiciability of environmental claims