Turkcell (TKC, TCELL), a Turkish communications and technology company, Wednesday said it will analyze the Alien Tort Statute upon which the U.S. Supreme Court limited the jurisdictional reach of U.S. Courts in the Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum decision.
The case involved several Dutch, British, and Nigerian oil-exploration companies, who according to the plaintiffs, aided and abetted the Nigerian government during the 1990s in committing violations of customary international law.
The plaintiffs claimed that Royal Dutch Shell compelled its Nigerian subsidiary, in cooperation with the Nigerian government, to brutally crush peaceful resistance to aggressive oil development in the Ogoni Niger River Delta.
Both the district courts and the appellate court for the second circuit had dismissed the claims, stating that corporations cannot be held liable for violations of customary international law.
Kiobel then petitioned the Supreme Court for review of the Second Circuit's decision. Oral arguments were held on February 28.
As of now, the District Court of Columbia will resolve the impact of Kiobel decision on the case in the coming weeks.
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