Sarei V Rio Tinto

Sarei v Rio Tinto in 2011

United States views on international law (based on the document “Digest of U.S. Practice in International Law”): On October 25, 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit issued its second en banc decision in Sarei v. Rio Tinto, 2011 WL 5041927 (9th Cir. 2011). Plaintiffs, current and former residents of Papua New Guinea, brought the action under the ATS against international mining group Rio Tinto, alleging that Rio Tinto was liable for international law violations by government forces in connection with maintaining the operation of its copper mine in Papua New Guinea during a civil uprising. The case had been dismissed once by the district court and remanded by the Ninth Circuit sitting en banc for a determination on the issue of prudential exhaustion. The appeal decided in 2011 was from the district court's holding that plaintiffs' claims for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and racial discrimination could proceed without requiring plaintiffs to exhaust local remedies. For additional background on the case, see this world legal encyclopedia in relation with the year 2001 at 337-39 (reprinting the letter from the Department of State in response to the request from the district court for views on the impact of the litigation on U.S. foreign policy); World Encyclopedia of Law 2002 at 333–43, 357, 574–75 (discussing and excerpting the original decision by the district court dismissing based on the political question doctrine); World Encyclopedia of Law 2006 at 431–50 (discussing and excerpting the Ninth Circuit's decision on appeal and the U.S. brief as amicus in support of rehearing); World Encyclopedia of Law 2007 at 227-31 (discussing the Ninth Circuit's revision of its 2006 opinion and the U.S. amicus brief supporting a second petition for rehearing); World Encyclopedia of Law 2008 at 238–44 (discussing and excerpting the Ninth Circuit's en banc decision). The United States did not participate in the appeal decided in 2011. Rio Tinto filed a petition for certioriari in the United States Supreme Court in November 2011 appealing the Ninth Circuit's 2011 en banc decision.

Sarei v. Rio Tinto

In relation to the international law practice and Sarei v. Rio Tinto in this world legal Encyclopedia, please see the following section:

Private International Law

About this subject:

Commercial Law: Uncitral

. Note: there is detailed information and resources, in relation with these topics during the year 2011, covered by the entry, in this law Encyclopedia, about Review of Work

Resources

See Also

• Foreign Relations
• Alien Tort Claims
• Torture Victim Protection