A congressional majority passed a new law recently allowing 9/11 victims’ families to sue the country of Saudi Arabia for compensation. President Obama vetoed the bill but congress over-rode the veto and passed the law. See article in NY Times: http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/29/us/politics/senate-votes-to-override-obama-veto-on-9-11-victims-bill.html
Why the Saudi Arabia lawsuit veto-override is wrong.
I’m a lawyer but not a diplomat or international lawyer. Still, there are four obvious, serious problems with this new law. It was passed because it “sounded good” to the public and the politicians responded to that. On the surface, it sounds great—the 9/11 victims’ families have a chance to be compensated for their loss. But there are problems with this.
- The media has exposed most of the terrorists as being Saudi Arabian citizens with some suggestions the government supported them financially. Even if this is all true, in a lawsuit the victim must prove that the Saudi government caused the terrorists to take their murderous actions. In reality, it will be extremely tough to prove so the lawsuits will probably not be successful. But just starting a lawsuit leads to the next problem
- It will “open a can of worms.” Lawsuits in federal court allow the victims great power to investigate the facts of the case and compel the other side to reveal an enormous amount of facts. This can lead to U.S. citizens getting info about our country’s diplomatic, political, and economic affairs with Saudi Arabia. It could compromise not only government relations but also private business interests who work in Saudi Arabia.
- If there are secret defense agreements between Saudi security forces and our security agencies, a lawsuit could expose these law enforcement activities. Would that ruin our security protections against future terrorists? Yes, it could.
- It sets-up the U.S. to equal treatment in the world. Right now, U.S. laws carves out a prohibition in federal court to protect the government of sovereign nations. In turn, other countries give us equal respect in their courts. The new law changes that. How long will it be before hundreds of other countries will pass similar laws—and start filing lawsuits against us? Just defending thousands of those suits could cost the taxpayers millions of dollars—and remember, those trial will occur in the other country. Hardly a fair hearing for U.S. interests. These are some of the reasons why the Saudi Arabia lawsuit veto over-ride is wrong.
What do you think?
