If general counsel wonder whether their companies’ friend-of-the-court briefs ever have any impact, they only need to look at last week’s U.S. Supreme Court action involving the Alien Tort Statute. Two amicus briefs clearly helped sway the justices into postponing a decision while exploring a new issue not raised by the parties.
The case, Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum, 10-1491, was filed by Esther Kiobel and other Nigerian villagers who accused the defendants—Royal Dutch Petroleum (now Royal Dutch Shell) of the Netherlands and two other Shell subsidiaries—of aiding human rights abuses by Nigeria’s military. The narrow question presented on appeal was whether corporations, as opposed to individuals, may be held liable for violations of international law under the statute.
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