A Critique of the Terrorism Exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act

Abstract

While the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act generally prevents foreign states from being the subject of lawsuits in U.S. courts, countries that have been designated as state sponsors of by the Secretary of State are exempted from this protection. Judgments entered under this terrorism already total more than $4 billion, with a number of suits still pending. These judgments may pose difficulties for the United States by shifting foreign policymaking power from the executive to the courts, encouraging retaliatory legislation, provoking hostility internationally, and posing barriers to normalization of relations with defendant states. In this Note, Daveed Gartenstein-Ross argues that, because the costs of the exception are substantial and the benefits minimal, the exception is a harmful piece of legislation. He explores alternatives policies that the United States can pursue.