Shell, which denies any wrongdoing, now argues that the Alien Tort Act should not apply to corporations, even American ones, and furthermore should not cover violations committed outside American jurisdiction.
The law under which Mr Karadzic has been sued is known as the Alien Tort Claims Act, originally a part of the Judiciary Act of 1789.
After all, claims under the Alien Tort Claims Act usually end with a massive default judgment after the defendant skips the country, never to pay up.
The Roberts Court is also likely to trim the sails of plaintiff lawyers who want to use the 1789 Alien Tort Claims Act to pursue 21st-century class actions, Feder said.
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After the failure of the Congress to pass the Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors (DREAM) Act, it has been a welcome, if limited, relief.
The lawsuit seeking unspecified damages is based on several claims, but rests primarily on the Alien Tort Statute and the Torture Victim Protection Act, which open the door for the Saharkizes to sue a Finnish company for goings-on in Iran.
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The Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors -- or DREAM -- Act, would create a path to citizenship for immigrants who entered the United States illegally as children under the age of 16 and have lived in the United States for at least five years, obtained a high school or General Education Development diploma, and demonstrated "good moral character, " the White House said.
The Alien Tort Statute, enacted as part of the Judiciary Act of 1789, permits federal courts to recognize private claims in for a limited number of international law violations.
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Although the killing occurred in Colombia, the lawsuit argues that U.S. federal laws -- including the Alien Tort Statute and the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act -- give American courts jurisdiction in the case.
The DREAM Act (Development, Relief, and Education for Alien Minors), a legal means of providing paperless illegal-immigrant youth access to higher education and financial aid, was signed into California law in October 2011.
He discussed immigration and education when I asked him about the Dream Act, an acronym for Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors, which has been before Congress since 2001 and was most recently blocked by a Senate filibuster in December 2010.
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