Until the end of June, multinational companies faced a significant litigation risk: suits in U.S. federal courts alleging that they aided-and-abetted human rights abuses committed by foreign governments—even when the alleged conduct occurred entirely overseas—under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) and the Torture Victim Protection Act (TVPA). These cases are costly to defend and can drag on for years, regardless of their merits.

The U.S. Supreme Court has now largely closed that door. In Cisco Systems, Inc. v. Doe I, 609 U.S. __ (June 23, 2026), the Court held that federal courts have no authority to create new private causes of action under the ATS, and that the TVPA does not extend to aiding-and-abetting claims. The decision significantly curtails the ability of plaintiffs to pursue human rights claims in U.S. courts against corporations—including U.S. companies—whose products or services allegedly facilitated international law abuses by foreign governments or other actors.

For companies operating in regions prone to terrorism and armed conflict, the ruling provides greater legal certainty, reducing the risk that their commercial activities in high-risk jurisdictions will expose them to open-ended ATS litigation in U.S. courts.

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