The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that federal courts do not have jurisdiction to hear lawsuits against foreign companies accused of human rights abuses abroad.
In a decision issued Wednesday, the justices ruled unanimously that a federal court in New York could not hear a case involving Nigerian activists who said the Anglo-Dutch company Royal Dutch Shell was complicit in rights abuses committed by the Nigerian government.
The case centered around the killing of Nigerian environmental activists during a crackdown on protesters in the oil-rich Ogoni region between 1992 and 1995.
