GW Law Faculty Publications & Other Works

Document Type

Brief

Publication Date

2026

Status

Working

Abstract

This amicus brief was filed with the U.S. Supreme Court on behalf of international law scholars in Cisco Systems, Inc. v. Doe I. The brief addresses whether claims for aiding and abetting violations of international human rights may be brought under the Alien Tort Statute. Part I argues that, under Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain (2004), whether aiding and abetting claims are actionable is determined by customary international law rather than U.S. domestic law. Part II argues that customary international law’s prohibition against aiding and abetting human rights violations meets the Sosa standard. Drawing on instruments establishing the Nuremberg tribunals, the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY), and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR), as well as cases decided at these tribunals, the brief shows that the prohibition is both generally accepted and specifically defined. Finally, Part III argues that international law allows the United States to impose civil liability for aiding and abetting. Although the prohibition against aiding and abetting has generally been enforced internationally by criminal tribunals, that practice does not foreclose countries like the United States from imposing civil liability domestically for violations.

The brief was written by William S. Dodge and joined by E. Tendayi Achiume, Philip G. Alston, Lori Fisler Damrosch, Laura A. Dickinson, Mark A. Drubl, Jean Galbraith, Richard J. Goldstone, Oona A. Hathaway, Derek Jinks, Harold Hongju Koh, Saira Mohamed, Sean D. Murphy, Jens David Ohlin, Steven R. Ratner, Leila Sadat, Michael P. Scharf, Ralph G. Steinhardt, Edward T. Swaine, and Alex Whiting.

GW Paper Series

2026-29

Download

Included in

Law Commons

Share

COinS