## Facts

- Burmese villagers alleged abuses linked to construction of the Yadana natural-gas pipeline in Myanmar’s Tenasserim region.
- Unocal, a U.S. oil and gas company, held a 28% interest in the project alongside other partners and worked with Myanmar authorities responsible for area security and project support.
- Plaintiffs alleged Myanmar military forces forcibly relocated villagers, compelled forced labor, and committed murder, rape, and torture in connection with pipeline security and infrastructure.
- Plaintiffs alleged Unocal knew of the military’s abusive practices, benefitted from forced labor, and provided financial and logistical support for military activities connected to the project.
- The district court entered summary judgment for Unocal on federal claims, requiring proof Unocal wanted the abuses or exercised direct control over the military.
- Plaintiffs appealed.

## Issues

1. Whether private actors, including corporations, may be liable under the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) for violations of customary international law that do not require state action.
2. Whether aiding-and-abetting liability is cognizable under the ATS, and what mens rea standard applies.
3. Whether forced labor in the alleged circumstances constitutes a specific, universal, and obligatory norm actionable under the ATS (as a form of slavery).
4. Whether the record supported ATS claims for forced labor and related abuses, and whether other federal claims (including RICO theories) could proceed.

## Decision

- The Ninth Circuit panel reversed in part and affirmed in part the district court’s judgment.
- The panel held that corporations and other private actors can be liable under the ATS for certain norms that do not require state action, including slavery.
- The panel recognized forced labor as alleged as a modern form of slavery actionable under the ATS.
- The panel held aiding-and-abetting liability is available under the ATS where the defendant knowingly provides substantial assistance to the principal violator; purpose to bring about the abuse is not required.
- The panel found sufficient evidence to permit trial on aiding-and-abetting claims tied to forced labor/slavery and associated murder and rape based on Unocal’s alleged knowledge and assistance.
- The panel affirmed dismissal as to certain other theories and claims, including some RICO and ATS-based claims; it did not find the record equally supportive for all alleged torture-related liability.

## Legal Principles

- The ATS permits jurisdiction over civil claims by aliens for torts committed in violation of specific, universal, and obligatory norms of customary international law.
- For international-law norms that do not require state action (e.g., slavery), private actors may be primary violators; ATS liability is not limited to conduct under color of law.
- Forced labor, when functionally equivalent to slavery, may qualify as an ATS-cognizable violation of the law of nations.
- Aiding-and-abetting liability under the ATS may be established by (1) knowledge of the principal’s wrongful conduct and (2) substantial assistance (including practical assistance or encouragement) that has a substantial effect on the violation.
- Aiding-and-abetting liability does not require proof the defendant desired the principal’s commission of the abuses, where knowledge and substantial assistance are shown.

## Conclusion

The panel concluded that a corporation could face ATS liability for knowingly providing substantial assistance to forced labor treated as slavery and related abuses committed by military forces connected to a commercial project, and it allowed those claims to proceed while leaving other federal theories dismissed.


Doe v. Unocal Corp., 395 F.3d 932 (9th Cir. 2002)