Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. has generated concerns that a governance gap will emerge for corporations that propagate human rights violations abroad. In Kiobel, the U.S. Supreme Court barred most “case[s] seeking relief for violations of the law of nations occurring outside the United States.”[1] The U.S. had previously offered victims straightforward access to justice in its courts.[2] As American courts grow less open to extraterritorial claims, recognition of the global context gains importance. The current climate presents opportunities for other judicial systems to step forward. Specifically, Kiobel has provided the European Court of Human Rights with the occasion to interpret the European Convention on Human Rights [3] to require the right to an extraterritorial forum and counterbalance the shift in the U.S. that Kiobel represents.
[1] Kiobel v Royal Dutch Petroleum Co., 133 S. Ct. 1659, 1669 (2013).
[2] See 28 U.S.C. § 1350 (amended 2012) and its interpretation in, for example, Abdullahi v. Pfizer, Inc., 562 F.3d 163, 172–74 (2d Cir. 2009); Bodner v. Banque Paribas, 114 F. Supp. 2d 117, 128 (E.D.N.Y. 2000).
[3] European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms, Nov. 4, 1950, 213 U.N.T.S. 221, [hereinafter ECHR] (entered into force Sept. 3, 1953) (as amended by Protocols Nos. 11 and 14, which entered into force on Nov. 1, 1998 and June 1, 2010, respectively).