On Feb. 28, in Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., the U.S. Supreme Court will hear arguments on whether victims of genocide, crimes against humanity and other egregious international human rights violations can hold corporations liable under the Alien Tort Statute. Among the issues that may be considered by the Court are principles relied on more than a half-century ago when German corporations that participated in the Nazi war were held legally accountable for their actions.
German industry was a major participant in the international law violations committed by the Nazi regime. The most notorious, I.G. Farben, was one of the world’s largest industrial conglomerates, at the time ranking in size only behind General Motors, Standard Oil and U.S. Steel. A key manufacturer of synthetic oil, rubber, nitrates, drugs, poison gases and rocket fuels, Farben dedicated its enormous productive facilities and concentration of economic power to the Nazi war. As historian Joseph Borkin wrote, “With I.G. and coal Adolf Hitler almost conquered the world.”
This content has been archived. It is available through our partners, LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law.
To view this content, please continue to their sites.
Not a Lexis Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
Not a Bloomberg Law Subscriber?
Subscribe Now
LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law are third party online distributors of the broad collection of current and archived versions of ALM's legal news publications. LexisNexis® and Bloomberg Law customers are able to access and use ALM's content, including content from the National Law Journal, The American Lawyer, Legaltech News, The New York Law Journal, and Corporate Counsel, as well as other sources of legal information.
For questions call 1-877-256-2472 or contact us at [email protected]
