First Congress Enacts Alien Tort Statute in Judiciary Act

The First Congress passed the Judiciary Act of 1789 on September 24, which included the Alien Tort Statute — a one-sentence provision granting federal courts jurisdiction over civil suits by foreign nationals for violations of the law of nations or U.S. treaties. Congress sought to ensure that international law disputes, including piracy and attacks on diplomats, would be heard in experienced federal courts. The statute lay nearly dormant for 191 years.