Presbyterian Church of Sudan v. Talisman Energy, Inc.
United States District Court for the Southern District of New York
244 F. Supp. 2d 289 (2003)
- Written by Liz Nakamura, JD
Facts
Talisman Energy, Inc. (defendant), a Canadian energy company, worked with the government of Sudan to develop the Sudanese oil industry and establish oil fields in southern Sudan. Because there were people living in the areas marked for oil field development, the Sudanese government engaged in a campaign of ethnic cleansing to remove inhabitants from the area. The ethnic-cleansing campaign resulted in countless deaths, enslavements, and destruction of property, including churches. The Presbyterian Church of Sudan (PCS) (plaintiff) sued Talisman in United States District Court under the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA), alleging that Talisman had violated jus cogens international norms prohibiting genocide, slavery, and ethnic cleansing. Specifically, PCS alleged that (1) Talisman knew that the Sudanese government was engaged in ethnic cleansing; and (2) Talisman conspired with the Sudanese government to effectuate the ethnic cleansing by, for example, allowing Sudanese government agents to use Talisman’s roads and airstrips for ethnic-cleansing operations. Talisman moved to dismiss, arguing that the district court lacked subject-matter jurisdiction because corporations could not be held liable for international law violations.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Cote, J.)
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