II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4155 

To amend title 28, United States Code, to authorize extraterritorial 

jurisdiction. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 5, 2022 

Mr. DURBIN (for himself and Mr. BROWN) introduced the following bill; which 

was read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary 

A BILL 

To amend title 28, United States Code, to authorize 

extraterritorial jurisdiction. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Alien Tort Statute 

5 Clarification Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) Since its founding, the United States has 

9 been a proponent of international law and a cham10 pion of universal human rights. Section 1350 of title 


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1 28, United States Code (referred to in this section 

2 as the ‘‘Alien Tort Statute’’), originally enacted as 

3 part of the Act entitled ‘‘An Act to establish the ju4 dicial courts of the United States’’, approved Sep5 tember 24, 1789 (1 Stat. 73), continues to serve im6 portant purposes in providing remedies to victims of 

7 violations of international law and for holding per8 petrators of human rights violations accountable. 

9 (2) Some international law violations have been 

10 addressed in part by other statutes. But the Alien 

11 Tort Statute remains an important tool for address12 ing international law violations. 

13 (3) Human rights abusers continue to seek ref14 uge in the United States, including foreign govern15 ment and military officials and leaders of death 

16 squads and other violent groups. This undermines 

17 the standing of the United States and its capacity 

18 to speak with authority on matters of human rights. 

19 (4) When corporations commit or aid and abet 

20 human rights violations directly and through their 

21 supply chains, they should be held accountable. Fail22 ing to do so erodes the foreign policy interests of the 

23 United States and the priorities of Congress. 

24 (5) Impunity for corporations who violate 

25 human rights unfairly disadvantages businesses that 


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1 respect and uphold human rights. Companies that 

2 respect human rights should have a level playing 

3 field with companies that do not, such as those that 

4 would continue to do business in areas of the world 

5 known for mass atrocities or war crimes, including 

6 the Xinjiang region of the People’s Republic of 

7 China or in the Russian Federation amidst the on8 going invasion of Ukraine. 

9 (6) In many countries where human rights 

10 abuses occur, victims are unable to obtain justice be11 cause of ongoing conflicts and violence, corruption, 

12 and inadequate rule of law. In many such cases, a 

13 suit under the Alien Tort Statute is the only option 

14 for redress and accountability. 

15 (7) The international law violations for which 

16 the Alien Tort Statute provides a remedy are uni17 versal and the Alien Tort Statute is a testament to 

18 the rule of law in the United States. 

19 (8) The Alien Tort Statute should be available 

20 against those responsible for human rights abuses 

21 whenever they are subject to personal jurisdiction in 

22 the United States, regardless of where the abuse oc23 curred. 


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1 SEC. 3. EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION. 

2 Section 1350 of title 28, United State Code, is 

3 amended— 

4 (1) by inserting ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—’’ before 

5 ‘‘The district’’; and 

6 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

7 ‘‘(b) EXTRATERRITORIAL JURISDICTION.—In addi8 tion to any domestic or extraterritorial jurisdiction other9 wise provided by law, the district courts of the United 

10 States have extraterritorial jurisdiction over any tort de11 scribed in subsection (a) if— 

12 ‘‘(1) an alleged defendant is a national of the 

13 United States or an alien lawfully admitted for per14 manent residence (as those terms are defined in sec15 tion 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 

16 U.S.C. 1101)); or 

17 ‘‘(2) an alleged defendant is present in the 

18 United States, irrespective of the nationality of the 

19 alleged defendant.’’. 

Æ 


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