Today, in Aldana v. Del Monte Fresh, the 11th Circuit rejected an Alien Tort Claim cause of action for failing to qualify for a jurisdictional grant, because the claim wasn't violative of international customary law. The case involved a union fight in Guatemala between laborers and a plantation run for Del Monte Fresh, which is incorporated in Delaware and has its principle place of business in Florida. The laborers asserted that they were threatened and pushed around with guns by a private security force used by a wholly-owned subsidiary of Del Monte. In its decision, the court discussed the potential for incorporation of evolving norms of international customary law into U.S. law.

While the court didn't do much more than discuss the recent Supreme Court decision of Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain in reaching its opinion, the discussion made it clear that the lower courts feel a tension created by the U.S. Supreme Court in just how much international law should be taken into consideration by U.S. courts.

For an earlier post on Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain and its relevance in the environmental context, see here.