Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act

Summary: Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act - Amends the federal judicial code to include among the exceptions to U.S. jurisdictional immunity of foreign states 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. Amends the federal criminal code to: (1) impose liability on any person who aids, abets, or conspires with a person who commits an act of international terrorism that is committed, planned, or authorized by a designated foreign terrorist organization and that injures a U.S. national; and (2) repeal provisions prohibiting civil actions against foreign states or foreign officials for damages related to acts of terrorism. Grants U.S. district courts personal jurisdiction, to the maximum extent permissible under the Fifth Amendment, over any person who commits or aids and abets an act of international terrorism, or who otherwise sponsors such act or the person who committed such an act, that injures a U.S. national.  Makes this Act applicable to any civil action: (1) pending on, or commenced on or after, this Act's enactment date; and (2) arising out of an injury to a person, property, or business on or after September 11, 2001.

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 therefore Congress 
        may by law impose penalties on those who provide 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) It is necessary to 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.).
            (6) 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.).
            (7) 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''.
            (8) Consistent with these declarations, no country has the 
        discretion to engage knowingly in the financing or sponsorship 
        of terrorism, whether directly or indirectly.
            (9) 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.
            (10) 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, 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 under subsection (a) for an injury 
arising from an act of international terrorism committed, planned, or 
authorized by an organization that had been designated as a foreign 
terrorist organization under section 219 of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189), as of the date on which such act of 
international terrorism was committed, planned, or authorized, or that 
was so designated as a result of such act of international terrorism, 
liability may be asserted as to any person who aided, abetted, or 
conspired with the person who committed such an act of international 
terrorism.''.
    (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. PERSONAL 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) Personal 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 or aids and abets an act of international terrorism or 
otherwise sponsors such act or the person who committed such act, 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--
            ``(1) the United States;
            ``(2) an agency of the United States; or
            ``(3) 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--
            (1) pending on, or commenced on or after, the date of 
        enactment of this Act; and
            (2) arising out of an injury to a person, property, or 
        business on or after September 11, 2001.

            Passed the Senate December 11, 2014.

            Attest:

                                                             Secretary.
113th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 1535

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

    To deter terrorism, provide justice for victims, and for other 
                               purposes.