Cisco Systems, Inc. v. Doe · ¶89

Start with the common ground: There is no dispute that the ATS contains judicially implied causes of action. Specifically, it contains implied causes of action for “‘violation of safe conducts, infringement of the rights of ambassadors, and piracy.’” Ante, at 4 (quoting Sosa, 542 U. S., at 715). Those causes of action appear nowhere in the ATS’s text. They instead come from authoritative accounts of international law, most notably the work of 18th century English jurist William Blackstone. See 4 W. Blackstone, Commentaries on the Laws of England 68 (1769). (Hence the moniker “Blackstone three.”) As Sosa explained, suits alleging violations of safe conducts, infringements on the rights of ambassadors, and acts of piracy all may proceed under the ATS because Congress likely had these three offenses “in mind” when it passed the ATS, even if it did not say so expressly. 542 U. S., at…

slip opinion
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