§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they have intervened in proceedings pending before the Supreme Court of the United States; and, if so, for what reason and upon what issues. [HL1406]
§ The Attorney-General (Lord Goldsmith)The Government have intervened in two cases currently pending before the US Supreme Court.
The Government, together with the Australian and Swiss Governments, filed an amicus brief on 23 January 2004 in the Soso v Alvarez case which concerns the Alien Tort Statute (ATS). It is hoped that this case will serve as a test case on the scope of the ATS. The concern addressed by the Government's amicus brief is the use of 188WA the ATS by US courts to gain extra-territorial jurisdiction over non-US nationals or companies.
The Government also filed an amicus brief on 3 February 2004 jointly with the Irish and Netherlands Governments in the case of Empagran SA v Hoffman La-Roche Ltd. This case is of considerable importance for determining the future jurisdiction or scope of US competition law and the Government considered that it was important that the US courts are aware that their decisions have implications for competition regulation in jurisdictions outside the US.