Abstract:
This article considers the potential of tort law to foster greater corporate compliance with international human rights
norms.The extraterritorial use of tort to challenge multinational corporations (MNCs) is a strategy increasingly utilised
in a number of jurisdictions, including Australia, the United Kingdom and the United States. This article focuses on the
United States, and the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) in particular, which provides the most innovative employment of
tort in this context. Despite examples of substantial settlements and transformed corporate behaviour, the article argues
that the limitations of tort in domestic systems have been replicated and magnified in the international arena. Hence
compensation, the primary aim of tort law in the domestic system, appears largely unachievable for violations perpetrated
in international jurisdictions. However, despite their poor record in compensation, ATCA claims appear to have
had a more significant impact in deterrence and safety enhancement, primarily because of the adverse publicity they
generate and the corresponding potential for negative impact on profits. Thus, the potential of tort in responding to extraterritorial
human rights violations by MNCs lies primarily in deterrence, rather than compensation. Although unlikely
to provide a panacea for corporate irresponsibility, it is nevertheless a noteworthy contender in an armoury of strategies.
