Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act
Bill Summary and President Obama’s Veto Message
The following summarizes the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (S. 2040), as signed into law on September 28, 2016, as P.L. 114-222. This bill amends the Federal judicial code to narrow the scope of foreign sovereign immunity (i.e., a foreign state’s immunity from the jurisdiction of U.S. courts). Specifically, it authorizes Federal court jurisdiction over a civil claim against a foreign state for physical injury to a person or property or death that occurs inside the United States as a result of: (1) an act of international terrorism, and (2) a tort committed anywhere by an official, agent, or…
