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U. S. Judgments Against Terrorist States

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 March 2017

Sean D. Murphy
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Type
Contemporary Practice of the United States Relating to International Law
Information
American Journal of International Law , Volume 95 , Issue 1 , January 2001 , pp. 134 - 139
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of International Law 2001

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References

1 Antiterrorism and Effective Death Penalty Act of 1996, Pub. L. No. 104-132, §221, 110 Stat. 1214, 1241.

2 28 U.S.C.A. §§1605(a) (7),1610(a) (7) (West Supp. 2000). The secretary of state has designated Cuba, Iran, Iraq, Libya, North Korea, Sudan, and Syria as state sponsors of terrorism. See 31 C.F.R. §596.201 (2000).

3 See 28 U.S.C. §1605 note (Supp. IV 1998). The law essentially provides a cause of action against any foreign state and its agents for any act that would give a court jurisdiction under the new terrorist-state exception to immunity in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA). The law allows recovery for pain and suffering, economic damages, solatium, and punitive damages.

4 Alejandre v. Republic of Cuba, 996 F. Supp. 1239 (S.D. Fla. 1997); see Stephen J. Schnably, Case Report: Alejandre v. Republic of Cuba, 92 AJIL 768 (1998). For a discussion of the case and efforts to enforce die judgment, see Sean D. Murphy, Contemporary Practice of the United States, 94 AJIL 117, 120 (2000).

5 Flatow v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 999 F. Supp. 1 (D.D.C. 1998). For a discussion of the case and efforts to enforce the judgment, see Sean D. Murphy, Contemporary Practice of the United States, 93 AJIL 181 (1999), 94 AJIL 117 (2000). On July 24, 2000, die Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a district court decision that quashed writs of execution of the judgment against three real properties of the Alavi Foundation located in Maryland. The circuit court agreed that the foundation was a nonprofit corporation formed under New York law and therefore was neither a foreign state nor an agency or instrumentality of a foreign state, such that the enforcement provisions of the FSIA were available. Flatow v. Alavi Foundation, No. 99-2409, 2000 U.S. App. LEXIS 17753 (4th Cir. July 24, 2000). On the Flatow family’s efforts to obtain documents from the Department of Treasury on Iranian assets, see Flatow v. Republic of Iran, No. 97-396, 2000 WL 1336481 (D.D.C. Sept. 14, 2000) (requiring production by the Treasury Department but declining to issue sanctions for documents inadvertently destroyed).

6 Cicippio v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 18 F.Supp.2d 62 (D.D.C. 1998).

7 Anderson v. Islamic Republic of Iran, 90 F.Supp.2d 107 (D.D.C. 2000).

8 Eisenfeld v. Islamic Republic of Iran, No. 98-1945, 2000 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 9545 (D.D.C. July 11, 2000).

9 Higgins v. Islamic Republic of Iran, No. l:99cv 00377, slip op. at 2-6 (D.D.C. Sept. 21, 2000).

10 Higgins v. Islamic Republic of Iran, No. l:99cv 00377, order (D.D.C. Sept. 21, 2000).

11 Smith v. Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, 886 F. Supp. 306 (E.D.N.Y. 1995), aff’d, 101 F.3d 239 (2d Cir. 1996), cert, denied, 520 U.S. 1204 (1997).

12 Rein v. Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, 995 F. Supp. 325 (E.D.N.Y. 1998).

13 Rein v. Socialist People’s Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, 162 F.3d 748, 764 (1998), cert, denied, 525 U.S. 1003 (1999).

14 28 U.S.C.A. §1605(a)(7)(B)(i) (West Supp. 2000).

15 28 U.S.C. §1350, note §3(b)(l) (1994).

16 International Convention Against the Taking of Hostages, Dec. 17, 1979, Art. 1.TIAS No. 11,081 at 4, 1316 UNTS 205, 207.

17 Daliberti v. Republic of Iraq, 97 F.Supp.2d 38, 45-46 (D.D.C. 2000). The court rejected, however, the plaintiffs’ effort to use the commercial-activity exception of the FSIA; the actions complained of were taken by a sovereign acting in a governmental capacity. Id. at 46-48 (citing Saudi Arabia v. Nelson, 507 U.S. 349 (1993)).

18 Id. at 49.

19 Id. at 52.

20 Id. at 52-54.

21 See Miller, Judith, Syria Is Sued by Family of Man Killed by ‘96 Bomb in Jerusalem, N.Y. Times, Aug. 2, 2000, at A6 Google Scholar.

22 S. 1796, 106th Cong. (1999).

23 See 106 Cong. Rec. H9047-48 (daily ed. Oct. 6, 2000). The vote was 371-1.

24 See 106 Cong. Rec. S10228 (daily ed. Oct. 11, 2000). The vote was 95-0.

25 Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, Pub. L. No. 106-386, §2002, 114 Stat. 1464, 1542-43 [hereinafter VTVPA]. The law is part of legislation enacted to combat trafficking in persons, especially the sex trade, slavery, and involuntary servitude.

26 Id. §2002 (a)(2) (A) & (B). By listing five specified dates (Feb. 17andDec. 13, 1999, and Jan. 28, Mar. 15, and July 27, 2000), the law took into account certain cases that had already been filed but not yet resulted in a final judgment. The law does not provide redress for claimants with cases against other states, such as Iraq, Libya, or Syria. For the Treasury Department’s initial notice on the program, see 65 Fed. Reg. 65,374 (2000).

27 VTVPA, supra note 25, §2002(a)(1)(A), (2)(B)&(C).

28 Id. §2002(a)(l)(B), (2)(B)&(D).

29 Id. §2002(f) (amending 28 U.S.C.A. §1610(f) (West Supp. 2000)).

30 Id. §§2002 (b) (1). It is estimated that there are more than $150 million in blocked Cuban assets in the United States. See Miller, Bill, Terrorism Victims Set Precedent, Wash. Post, Oct. 22, 2000, at Al Google Scholar.

31 VTVPA, supra note 25, §2002 (b) (2). The current amount in Iran’s Foreign Military Sales trust fund is approximately $400 million. See Miller, supra note 30.

32 VTVPA, supra note 25, §2002 (c).

33 Id. §2002 (e).

34 H.R. Conf. Rep. No. 106-939, at 118 (2000).

35 Determination to Waive Attachment Provisions Relating to Blocked Property of Terrorist -List States, Pres. Determination No. 2001-03, 65 Fed. Reg. 66,483 (2000).

36 See Susan & Daniel Cohen, Op-Ed, The Bill far Terror, N.Y. Times, Oct. 25, 2000, at A31 (by family members of a victim of the Lockerbie incident).

37 See Miller, supra note 30. For an argument that such laws place important issues of foreign policy in the hands of plaintiffs and the court, rather than in the hands of the U.S. government where they belong, see Anne-Marie, Slaughter & Bosco, David, Op-Ed, Sue Terrorists, Not Terrorist States, Wash. Post, Oct. 28, 2000, at A25 Google Scholar; Anne-Marie, Slaughter & Bosco, David, Plaintiffs Diplomacy, Foreign Aff., Sept.-Oct, 2000, at 102 Google Scholar.

38 MPs Cry “Down with America,” Approve Lawsuits Against United States, Agence France Press, Nov. 1, 2000 <http://www.iranmania.com/news/nov00/011100f.asp>.