Presbyterian Church of Sudan v. Talisman Energy, Inc.

(1) Whether federal common law tort principles or international law provides the standard for civil aiding and abetting or conspiracy liability under the Alien Tort Statute; (2) whether the mental element for civil aiding and abetting liability, under either federal common law or international law, permits liability based on a showing that the defendant knowingly provided substantial assistance to gross human rights violations, or whether a plaintiff must also show that the defendant had the intent to assist; and (3) whether ATS plaintiffs may assert conspiracy or joint criminal enterprise theories of liability based on federal common law or international law and, if so, whether, in the context of such joint action, ATS plaintiffs satisfy their burden of proof by demonstrating that the defendant knew of an illegal purpose of the joint criminal enterprise and was assisting to achieve that illegal purpose.