Justice Across Borders
The Struggle for Human Rights in U.S. Courts

This book studies the struggle to enforce international human rights law in federal courts.

Jeffrey Davis (Author)

9780521878173, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 2 June 2008

318 pages, 8 b/w illus. 29 tables
23.5 x 15.8 x 2.2 cm, 0.54 kg

"...an in-depth and fascinating examination of human rights litigation in American courts using the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) or Alien Tort Claims (ACTA)...a detailed, well-researched, carefully analyzed, and cogently argued book; it answers pivotal questions on how ATS has become a new tool in overcoming territorial limitations in pursuing international human rights violations very thoroughly and in a high readable and engaging manner...surely this book will make the reading list at several universities and draw the attention of those interested in human rights law and litigation."
--The Law and Politics Book Review, Srini Sitaraman, Government and International Relations, Clark University

This book studies the struggle to enforce international human rights law in federal courts. In 1980, a federal appeals court ruled that a Paraguayan family could sue a Paraguayan official under the Alien Tort Statute – a dormant provision of the 1789 Judiciary Act – for torture committed in Paraguay. Since then, courts have been wrestling with this step toward a universal approach to human rights law. Davis examines attempts by human rights groups to use the law to enforce human rights norms. He explains the separation of powers issues arising when victims sue the United States or when the United States intervenes to urge dismissal of a claim and analyses the controversies arising from attempts to hold foreign nations, foreign officials, and corporations liable under international human rights law. While Davis's analysis is driven by social science methods, its foundation is the dramatic human story from which these cases arise.

1. The seeds of legal accountability
2. Competing forces in the struggle for accountability
3. Human rights entrepreneurs: NGOs and the ATS revolution
4. Separation of powers and human rights cases
5. No safe haven: human rights cases challenging foreign countries and nationals
6. Holding corporations accountable for human rights violations
7. Sorting through the ashes: testing findings and predictions through quantitative analysis
8. Impact and conclusion.

Subject Areas: Human rights [JPVH]