Washington (CNN) The Supreme Court, in a 5-4 decision, ruled Tuesday that foreign corporations cannot be sued in US court under the Alien Tort Statute for violations of international law.

The ruling is a loss for some 6,000 foreign citizens who were victims of terrorist attacks and sought to sue the New York branch of the Arab Bank, the largest bank in Jordan.

The case had pitted human rights groups and victims of terrorism against multinational corporations that had argued they should not be sued in US courts, especially because the allegations lack the necessary nexus to the US.

Lawyers for the victims alleged the bank "knowingly and willingly" used its New York branch to transfer millions of US dollars that were used to finance terrorist attacks, which occurred between 1995 and 2005 in Israel, the West Bank and Gaza. The victims did not claim the bank was involved in the planning of the attacks, only the processing of financial transactions.

"Today's decision is a big blow for accountability for human rights violations in US courts," Steve Vladeck, CNN Supreme Court analyst and professor of law at the University of Texas School of Law. "Although the Supreme Court had opened the door to such suits in its 2004 ruling, in the Sosa (v. Alvarez-Machain) case, today's decision limits those suits to cases in which the defendant is an individual or a US corporation. Needless to say, those suits are fewer and further between."

Read More