JURI 4640:
International Law I
The International Legal Process

Professor Bodansky, Fall 2003
University of Georgia School of Law

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CLASS 21:
The Role of National Courts: The Alien Tort Claims Act

Assignment

Read pages 302-28 of the Casebook. Consider the questions in the Casebook, along with the following:
  1. In Filartiga, is the Court's reasoning persuasive that torture is prohibited as a matter of customary international law?

  2. In Tel-Oren, why does Judge Bork think that it is inappropriate for a U.S. court to consider a claim for money damages for the killing of 34 people by the PLO? Would the same objections apply to a private lawsuit against al-Qaeda for the deaths caused by the attack on the World Trade Center on 9/11?

  3. Should US courts apply customary international law in deciding cases, or is customary international law too controversial, too political, or too undemocratic to be appropriate as a rule of decision.