US appeals court won't rule on challenge to payment disclosure

WASHINGTON: A US appeals court on Friday declined to rule on a legal challenge filed by business groups against a Securities and Exchange Commission rule that would force energy companies to disclose any payments to foreign governments.

The legal challenge by the American Petroleum Institute, Chamber of Commerce and two other groups should instead be heard in a lower court, the three-judge panel of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit said.

The decision marks a victory for a human rights organization that had challenged the appeals court's jurisdiction to hear the case.