WASHINGTON, July 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court will
decide whether American corporations can be sued for alleged
human rights abuses occurring abroad under a 1789 law, agreeing
on Thursday to hear appeals by two companies - Cargill Inc and a
Nestle SA subsidiary - accused of knowingly helping
perpetuate slavery at Ivory Coast cocoa farms.
The two companies are asking the nine justices to reverse a
lower court ruling that allowed the lawsuit, filed on behalf of
former child slaves from Mali who worked on the farms, against
the companies filed under the Alien Tort Statute to proceed.
(Reporting by Lawrence Hurley; Additional reporting by Jan
Wolfe; Editing by Will Dunham)
