Supreme Court Reins In Activist Lawsuits, Major Win for U.S. Businesses

She noted the ATS is jurisdictional only and warned against courts inventing liability that risks “adverse foreign policy consequences.”

Justice Thomas, in prior related writings referenced by the majority, reinforced originalist limits.

Justice Alito has similarly stressed caution against race- or group-based standards bleeding into other doctrines, though here the focus remained textual and structural.

Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson concurred in part and dissented in part, joined by Justice Elena Kagan.

She agreed on narrowing the ATS but argued the TVPA’s text could encompass aiding and abetting in some cases.