by Raphael B. Hirsch
On May 29th, 2018 transnational corporations celebrated the narrow victory of Jesner v. Arab Bank of Jordan, PLC. Critics incorrectly argue that domestic federal litigation against transnational corporations for human rights violations have been extinguished. They are wrong. First of all, the Alien Tort Statute as a mechanism for holding transnational corporations liable in American Courts for actions committed abroad was already on its way out before Jesner was decided. Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., served to preclude suits against foreign corporations when the relevant conduct occurred outside of the United States. Thus, Jesner’s narrow holding that foreign transnational corporations may never be sued under the Alien Tort Statute should come as no surprise to anyone. Secondly, in what appears to be politically motivated, the court was unwilling to assert dominance over a Jordanian company, as Jordan is a strong ally of the United States in the Middle East.