Jesner v. Arab Bank, PLC

Decided April 24, 2018. Anthony McLeod Kennedy delivered the opinion of the Court.

Docket 16-499 · 584 U.S. 241 (2018) · Cited 70 times

Holding

The Second Circuit’s judgment—that foreign corporations may not be defendants in suits brought under the Alien Tort Statute—is affirmed.

The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court. Read the official opinion for authority.

How the Justices voted

Decided 5–4.

“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).

Precedents cited

Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.

• Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain · 542 U.S. 692 (2004)
• Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. · 569 U.S. 108 (2013)
• Mohamad v. Palestinian Authority · 566 U.S. 449 (2012)
• Erie Railroad v. Tompkins · 304 U.S. 64 (1938)
• Correctional Services Corp. v. Malesko · 534 U.S. 61 (2001)
• Bivens v. Six Unknown Named Agents of Federal Bureau of Narcotics · 403 U.S. 388 (1971)
• Textile Workers v. Lincoln Mills of Ala. · 353 U.S. 448 (1957)
• Alexander v. Sandoval · 532 U.S. 275 (2001)
• Arbaugh v. Y & H Corp. · 546 U.S. 500 (2006)
• Daimler AG v. Bauman · 571 U.S. 117 (2014)
• United States v. Ron Pair Enterprises, Inc. · 489 U.S. 235 (1989)
• Morissette v. United States · 342 U.S. 246 (1952)
• Cannon v. University of Chicago · 441 U.S. 677 (1979)
• Russello v. United States · 464 U.S. 16 (1983)
• Blue Chip Stamps v. Manor Drug Stores · 421 U.S. 723 (1975)
• Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission · 558 U.S. 310 (2010)
• United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
• United States v. Kimbell Foods, Inc. · 440 U.S. 715 (1979)
• Argentine Republic v. Amerada Hess Shipping Corp. · 488 U.S. 428 (1989)
• Chicago & Southern Air Lines, Inc. v. Waterman Steamship Corp. · 333 U.S. 103 (1948)
• Texas Industries, Inc. v. Radcliff Materials, Inc. · 451 U.S. 630 (1981)
• Illinois State Board of Elections v. Socialist Workers Party · 440 U.S. 173 (1979)
• Miles v. Apex Marine Corp. · 498 U.S. 19 (1990)
• Meyer v. Holley · 537 U.S. 280 (2003)
• United States v. Kozminski · 487 U.S. 931 (1988)
• The Paquete Habana · 175 U.S. 677 (1899)
• Monessen Southwestern Railway Co. v. Morgan · 486 U.S. 330 (1988)

Cited by

Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.

• Jam v. International Finance Corp. · 586 U.S. 199 (2019)

Official text

Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)

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Anthony McLeod Kennedy’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court

Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2018). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).