Political Quotes

“today I rise as an original sponsor of the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Technical Corrections Act of 1997. This legislation will extend a provision signed into law as part of the Anti-Terrorism Act (Pub. L. 104-132) allowing individuals who are victims of terrorism and other violations of international law to file suit for damages in United States court. The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, enacted in 1976, recognizes that except in the most egregious cases, foreign states are immune from suit by a citizen of the United States. The bill Senator Faircloth and I are introducing today establishes the principle that terrorism, extrajudicial killing, and other gross abuses of human rights are not protected acts of state and are not entitled to sovereign immunity. While the Anti-Terrorism Act expanded the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act to allow for suits against countries designated by the Department of State as a sponsor of terrorism, this bill would expand the list of states to include countries which do not have an extradition treaty with the United States, or which do not have an adequate available judicial remedy. This provision recognizes that while foreign states enjoy immunity from most legal action by individuals, there are certain fundamental principles of international law that cannot be violated with impunity.”