Suits Against Terrorist States

• Main Author: Ackerman, David M
• Format: Report
• Language: English
• Subjects: ANTITERRORISM AND EFFECTIVE DEATH PENALTY ACT; COMPENSATION; CUBA; DEATH; IMMUNITY; IRAN; LAW SUITS; LEGAL JUDGMENTS; LEGISLATION; LITIGATION; MONEY; PAYMENT; Sociology and Law; STATE IMMUNITY; TERRORISM; TERRORISM VICTIMS; TERRORIST STATES; Unconventional Warfare; UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT; WOUNDS AND INJURIES

In Section 2002 of the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000, Congress directed the Secretary of the Treasury to pay portions of 11 judgments that have been (or will be) handed down in suits against terrorist states since 1996. With respect to one judgment against Cuba, Section 2002 provided that payment would be made out of the assets of Cuba in the United States that have been blocked since 1962. With respect to 10 judgments against Iran, Congress directed that payment be made out of appropriated funds (up to a specified ceiling) and that the United States then be entitled to seek reimbursement for those payments from Iran. As a consequence, $96.7 million of the $193.5 million in Cuban assets frozen in this country has been paid in the one judgment against Cuba; and over $350 million in U.S. funds has been (or will be) paid in 9 judgments against Iran, with one more case not yet decided. Judgments against terrorist states in suits other than these 11 have continued to be handed down by the courts. But Section 2002 provided no procedure for claimants in other suits other than those designated to obtain satisfaction of their judgments. Moreover, other questions have been raised about the merits of the compensation program established by Section 2002. Nearly 6,000 claims against Cuba for death, injury, and expropriation during and after Castro's takeover were determined to be legitimate by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission in the late 1960s. But no compensation has ever been paid in these cases; and some of these claimants now criticize the use of a substantial portion of Cuba's frozen assets to provide compensation for a single, later terrorist act. In the case of the judgments against Iran, some have questioned the use of U.S. funds to pay compensation. Also, both the Clinton and Bush Administrations have raised objections to past efforts to use diplomatic property and frozen assets to satisfy the judgments against terrorist states. CRS Report for Congress.