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Page Number: 30

24 

JESNER v. ARAB BANK, PLC 

Opinion of the Court 
Opinion of KENNEDY, J. 

If, moreover, the Court were to hold that foreign corpo-
rations may be held liable under the ATS, that precedent-
setting  principle  “would  imply  that  other  nations,  also 
applying  the  law  of  nations,  could  hale  our  [corporations] 
into  their  courts  for  alleged  violations  of  the  law  of  na-
tions.”  Kiobel, 569 U. S., at 124.  This judicially mandated
doctrine,  in  turn,  could  subject  American  corporations  to
an  immediate,  constant  risk  of  claims  seeking  to  impose 
massive liability for the alleged conduct of their employees
and  subsidiaries  around  the  world,  all  as  determined  in 
foreign  courts,  thereby  “hinder[ing]  global  investment  in
developing economies, where it is most needed.”  Brief for 
United  States  as  Amicus  Curiae  in  American  Isuzu  Mo-
tors, Inc. v. Ntsebeza, O. T. 2007, No. 07–919, p. 20 (inter-
nal quotation marks omitted).

In  other  words,  allowing  plaintiffs  to  sue  foreign  corpo-
rations  under  the  ATS  could  establish  a  precedent  that 
discourages American corporations from investing abroad,
including in developing economies where the host govern-
ment might have a history of alleged human-rights  viola-
tions, or where judicial systems might lack the safeguards 
of  United  States  courts.    And,  in  consequence,  that  often
might  deter  the  active  corporate  investment  that  contrib-
utes  to  the  economic  development  that  so  often  is  an  es-
sential foundation for human rights. 

It is also true, of course, that natural persons can and do
use  corporations  for  sinister  purposes,  including  conduct
that  violates  international  law.  That  the  corporate  form 
can be an instrument for inflicting grave harm and suffer-
ing  poses  serious  and  complex  questions  both  for  the  in-
ternational  community  and  for  Congress.    So  there  are 
strong arguments for permitting the victims to seek relief 
from  corporations  themselves.    Yet  the  urgency  and  com-
plexity of this problem make it all the more important that 
Congress  determine  whether  victims  of  human-rights
abuses  may  sue  foreign  corporations  in  federal  courts  in