Alien Tort Statute Reform Act
Latest action · Oct 17, 2005 Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S11435-11436)
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedOct 17, 2005
- Passed SenateNot reached
- Passed HouseNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Alien Tort Statute Reform Act - Amends the federal judicial code to revise the alien tort (injury) statute. Grants exclusive, as well as original, jurisdiction to U.S. district courts over tort claims brought by aliens against U.S. individuals and business entities (e.g., corporations and partnerships). Specifies the torts that are actionable under the Act as torture, extrajudicial killing, genocide, piracy, slavery, or slave trading.
Establishes as the legal standard for defendant liability under the Act direct participation with specific intent to commit the alleged tort. Requires courts to decline jurisdiction over an alien tort claim if: (1) the alien claimant has not exhausted adequate and available remedies in the place where the alleged tort occurred; or (2) the President certifies in writing that the exercise of jurisdiction will have a negative impact on U.S. foreign policy interests.
Requires claims under the Act to be brought within 10 years from the date of the alleged tort.
Cosponsors
Members who signed on, in the order they did.
Actions 3
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Oct 17, 2005Introduced in Senate
- Oct 17, 2005Read twice and referred to the Committee on the Judiciary. (text of measure as introduced: CR S11435-11436)
- Oct 17, 2005Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR S11423-11435)
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Law.
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Oct 17, 2005Introduced in Senate
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov.