In a little more than a month, the Supreme Courts will hear arguments over the case Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum. Perhaps you haven't heard of this case yet. It's virtually unknown, with the exception of a few political and law junkies. However, it could carry implications which are even bigger than the ones from Citizen's United.
So, you may ask, what's at stake?
Basically, the Supreme Court is soon going to decide whether or not "corporations are immune from tort liability for violations of the law of nations such as torture, extrajudicial executions or genocide." I personally think it's somewhat insulting that a case to decide whether corporations can commit crimes against humanity even has to be considered. It should have every American concerned, though. Normally I wouldn't be worried if this case were in the hands of a sane Supreme Court, but the court has proved time and time again that it is one of the most corporation-friendly institutions in the world. And the thought that corporations might just be able to legally carry out genocide is simply too much for me to bear.
The 2nd District Court of Appeals already issued a ruling on this case, and, astoundingly, it ruled that corporations cannot be held liable when they commit crimes against humanity. In a stunning opinion, the majority held that neither the Alien Tort Statute nor international law pertains to corporations; and thus, corporations are free to legally torture, execute, and commit other heinous crimes against people so long as it is carried out overseas. As the majority claimed,
We must conclude, therefore, that insofar as plaintiffs bring claims under the [Alien Tort Statute] against corporations, plaintiffs fail to allege violations of the law of nations.
So, if the Supreme Court affirms the 2nd District Court of Appeal's decision, it will be impossible for corporations to violate the "law of nations," because there will be no law of nations for corporations to be held accountable to. That's just disgusting. Heck, that's beyond disgusting.
As the one dissenting judge on the 2nd District Court noted,
The majority opinion deals a substantial blow to international law and its undertaking to protect fundamental human rights. According to the rule my colleagues have created, one who earns profits by commercial exploitation of abuse of fundamental 150*150 human rights can successfully shield those profits from victims' claims for compensation simply by taking the precaution of conducting the heinous operation in the corporate form. Without any support in either the precedents or the scholarship of international law, the majority take the position that corporations, and other juridical entities, are not subject to international law, and for that reason such violators of fundamental human rights are free to retain any profits so earned without liability to their victims.
I fear the day when we live in a world where corporations can legally commit crimes against humanity. I fear the day when corporations can legally torture people. I fear the day when corporations can legally execute people. I fear the day when corporations can legally carry out genocides of mass proportions. I hope the day when all of these things could happen will never come, but it very well could. And that possibility is just horrifying.