Us Code § 1350 - Alien's action for tort
Full text of Us Code United States Code § 1350 — Alien's action for tort, with citation guidance and answers to common questions.
§ 1350. Alien's action for tort
The district courts shall have original jurisdiction of any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States.
(June 25, 1948, ch. 646, 62 Stat. 934.)
Historical and Revision Notes
Based on title 28, U.S.C., 1940 ed., §41(17) (Mar. 3, 1911, ch. 231, §24, par. 17, 36 Stat. 1093).
Words "civil action" were substituted for "suits," in view of Rule 2 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure.
Changes in phraseology were made.
Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries
Torture Victim Protection
Pub. L. 102–256, Mar. 12, 1992, 106 Stat. 73, provided that:
"SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
"This Act may be cited as the 'Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991'.
"SEC. 2. ESTABLISHMENT OF CIVIL ACTION.
"(a)
"(1) subjects an individual to torture shall, in a civil action, be liable for damages to that individual; or
"(2) subjects an individual to extrajudicial killing shall, in a civil action, be liable for damages to the individual's legal representative, or to any person who may be a claimant in an action for wrongful death.
"(b)
"(c)
"SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS.
"(a)
"(b)
"(1) the term 'torture' means any act, directed against an individual in the offender's custody or physical control, by which severe pain or suffering (other than pain or suffering arising only from or inherent in, or incidental to, lawful sanctions), whether physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on that individual for such purposes as obtaining from that individual or a third person information or a confession, punishing that individual for an act that individual or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, intimidating or coercing that individual or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind; and
"(2) mental pain or suffering refers to prolonged mental harm caused by or resulting from—
"(A) the intentional infliction or threatened infliction of severe physical pain or suffering;
"(B) the administration or application, or threatened administration or application, of mind altering substances or other procedures calculated to disrupt profoundly the senses or the personality;
"(C) the threat of imminent death; or
"(D) the threat that another individual will imminently be subjected to death, severe physical pain or suffering, or the administration or application of mind altering substances or other procedures calculated to disrupt profoundly the senses or personality."
About This Section
28 U.S.C. § 1350 is part of Title 28 of the United States Code. The United States Code is the official codification of federal statutes maintained by the Office of the Law Revision Counsel of the U.S. House of Representatives. Congress amends the Code through new public laws, which are eventually incorporated into the relevant title.
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