[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 1535 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
1st Session
S. 1535
To deter terrorism, provide justice for victims, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
September 19, 2013
Mr. Schumer (for himself, Mr. Cornyn, Mr. Coons, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr.
Graham, Mr. Hatch, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. Markey, Mr. Menendez, and Mr.
Whitehouse) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on the Judiciary
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To deter terrorism, provide justice for victims, and for other
purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Justice Against Sponsors of
Terrorism Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE.
(a) Findings.--Congress finds the following:
(1) International terrorism is a serious and deadly problem
that threatens the vital interests of the United States.
(2) The Constitution confers upon Congress the power to
punish crimes against the law of nations and to carry out the
treaty obligations of the United States, and therefore Congress
may by law impose penalties relating to the provision of
material support to foreign organizations engaged in terrorist
activity, and allow for victims of international terrorism to
recover damages from those who have harmed them.
(3) International terrorism affects the interstate and
foreign commerce of the United States by harming international
trade and market stability, and limiting international travel
by United States citizens as well as foreign visitors to the
United States.
(4) Some foreign terrorist organizations, acting through
affiliated groups or individuals, raise significant funds
outside of the United States for conduct directed and targeted
at the United States.
(5) Foreign organizations that engage in terrorist activity
are so tainted by their criminal conduct that any contribution
to such an organization facilitates that conduct.
(6) The imposition of civil liability at every point along
the causal chain of terrorism is necessary to deter the flow of
money, which is the lifeblood of terrorism. As recognized by
Judge Richard Posner in Boim v. Holy Land Foundation for Relief
and Development, 549 F.3d 685, 690-91 (7th Cir. 2008) (en
banc), ``[d]amages are a less effective remedy against
terrorists and their organizations than against their financial
angels[,] . . . suits against financiers of terrorism can cut
the terrorists' lifeline''.
(7) It is necessary to explicitly recognize the substantive
causes of action for aiding and abetting and conspiracy
liability under the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1987 (22 U.S.C. 5201
et seq.), especially given that the United States Courts of
Appeals for the 2d and 7th Circuits have held that such
theories of liability currently are not available. See
Rothstein v. UBS AG, 708 F.3d 82 (2d Cir. 2013); Boim v. Holy
Land Foundation for Relief and Development, 549 F.3d 685 (7th
Cir. 2008) (en banc).
(8) The decision of the United States Court of Appeals for
the District of Columbia in Halberstam v. Welch, 705 F.2d 472
(D.C. Cir. 1983), which has been widely recognized as the
leading case regarding Federal civil aiding and abetting and
conspiracy liability, including by the Supreme Court of the
United States, provides the proper legal framework for how such
liability should function in the context of the Anti-Terrorism
Act of 1987 (22 U.S.C. 5201 et seq.).
(9) The United Nations Security Council declared in
Resolution 1373, adopted on September 28, 2001, that all
countries have an affirmative obligation to ``[r]efrain from
providing any form of support, active or passive, to entities
or persons involved in terrorist acts,'' and to ``[e]nsure that
any person who participates in the financing, planning,
preparation or perpetration of terrorist acts or in supporting
terrorist acts is brought to justice''.
(10) Consistent with these declarations, no country has the
discretion to engage knowingly in the financing or sponsorship
of terrorism, whether directly or indirectly.
(11) Persons, entities, or countries that knowingly or
recklessly contribute material support or resources, directly
or indirectly, to persons or organizations that pose a
significant risk of committing acts of terrorism that threaten
the security of nationals of the United States or the national
security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States,
necessarily direct their conduct at the United States, and
should reasonably anticipate being brought to court in the
United States to answer for such activities.
(12) The United States has a vital interest in providing
persons and entities injured as a result of terrorist attacks
committed within the United States with full access to the
court system in order to pursue civil claims against persons,
entities, or countries that have knowingly or recklessly
provided material support or resources, directly or indirectly,
to the persons or organizations responsible for their injuries.
(b) Purpose.--The purpose of this Act is to provide civil litigants
with the broadest possible basis, consistent with the Constitution of
the United States, to seek relief against persons, entities, and
foreign countries, wherever acting and wherever they may be found, that
have provided material support or resources, directly or indirectly, to
foreign organizations or persons that engage in terrorist activities
against the United States.
SEC. 3. FOREIGN SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY.
Section 1605(a) of title 28, United States Code, is amended--
(1) by amending paragraph (5) to read as follows:
``(5) not otherwise encompassed in paragraph (2), in which
money damages are sought against a foreign state arising out of
physical injury or death, or damage to or loss of property,
occurring in the United States and caused by the tortious act
or omission of that foreign state or of any official or
employee of that foreign state while acting within the scope of
the office or employment of the official or employee
(regardless of where the underlying tortious act or omission
occurs), including any statutory or common law tort claim
arising out of an act of extrajudicial killing, aircraft
sabotage, hostage taking, terrorism, or the provision of
material support or resources for such an act, or any claim for
contribution or indemnity relating to a claim arising out of
such an act, except this paragraph shall not apply to--
``(A) any claim based upon the exercise or
performance of, or the failure to exercise or perform,
a discretionary function, regardless of whether the
discretion is abused; or
``(B) any claim arising out of malicious
prosecution, abuse of process, libel, slander,
misrepresentation, deceit, interference with contract
rights, or any claim for emotional distress or
derivative injury suffered as a result of an event or
injury to another person that occurs outside of the
United States; or''; and
(2) by inserting after subsection (d) the following:
``(e) Definitions.--For purposes of subsection (a)(5)--
``(1) the terms `aircraft sabotage', `extrajudicial
killing', `hostage taking', and `material support or resources'
have the meanings given those terms in section 1605A(h); and
``(2) the term `terrorism' means international terrorism
and domestic terrorism, as those terms are defined in section
2331 of title 18.''.
SEC. 4. AIDING AND ABETTING LIABILITY FOR CIVIL ACTIONS REGARDING
TERRORIST ACTS.
(a) In General.--Section 2333 of title 18, United States Code, is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(d) Liability.--In an action arising under subsection (a),
liability may be asserted as to the person or persons who committed
such act of international terrorism or any person or entity that aided,
abetted, or conspired with the person or persons who committed such an
act of international terrorism.
``(e) Non-Applicability of Law of Preclusion.--Any civil action or
claim that seeks recovery under this chapter for conduct that was the
basis of a civil action or claim previously dismissed for lack of
subject matter jurisdiction for failure to meet the requirements for an
exception under section 1605(a) of title 28 is not subject to dismissal
under the law of preclusion.''.
(b) Effect on Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.--Nothing in the
amendments made by this section affects immunity of a foreign state, as
that term is defined in section 1603 of title 28, United States Code,
from jurisdiction under other law.
SEC. 5. JURISDICTION FOR CIVIL ACTIONS REGARDING TERRORIST ACTS.
Section 2334 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by
inserting at the end the following:
``(e) Jurisdiction.--The district courts shall have personal
jurisdiction, to the maximum extent permissible under the 5th Amendment
to the Constitution of the United States, over any person who commits,
aids and abets an act of international terrorism, or provides material
support or resources as set forth in sections 2339A, 2339B, or 2339C,
for acts of international terrorism in which any national of the United
States suffers injury in his or her person, property, or business by
reason of such an act in violation of section 2333.''.
SEC. 6. LIABILITY FOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS IN CIVIL ACTIONS REGARDING
TERRORIST ACTS.
Section 2337 of title 18, United States Code, is amended to read as
follows:
``Sec. 2337. Suits against Government officials
``No action may be maintained under section 2333 against--
``(a) the United States;
``(b) an agency of the United States; or
``(c) an officer or employee of the United States or any agency of
the United States acting within the official capacity of the officer or
employee or under color of legal authority.''.
SEC. 7. SEVERABILITY.
If any provision of this Act or any amendment made by this Act, or
the application of a provision or amendment to any person or
circumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this Act and the
amendments made by this Act, and the application of the provisions and
amendments to any other person not similarly situated or to other
circumstances, shall not be affected by the holding.
SEC. 8. EFFECTIVE DATE.
The amendments made by this Act shall apply to any civil action
pending on, or commenced on or after, the date of enactment of this
Act.
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