II 

112TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1894 

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

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 17, 2011 

Mr. SCHUMER (for himself, Mr. WHITEHOUSE, Mr. GRAHAM, Mr. KYL, Mr. 

HATCH, and Mr. CORNYN) 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. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Justice Against Spon5 sors of Terrorism Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS AND PURPOSE. 

7 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress finds the following: 

8 (1) International terrorism is a serious and 

9 deadly problem that threatens the vital interests of 

10 the United States. 


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1 (2) The Constitution confers upon Congress the 

2 power to punish crimes against the law of nations 

3 and to carry out the treaty obligations of the United 

4 States, and therefore Congress may by law impose 

5 penalties relating to the provision of material sup6 port to foreign organizations engaged in terrorist ac7 tivity, and allow for victims of international ter8 rorism to recover damages from those who have 

9 harmed them. 

10 (3) International terrorism affects the inter11 state and foreign commerce of the United States by 

12 harming international trade and market stability, 

13 and limiting international travel by United States 

14 citizens as well as foreign visitors to the United 

15 States. 

16 (4) Some foreign terrorist organizations, acting 

17 through affiliated groups or individuals, raise signifi18 cant funds outside the United States for conduct di19 rected and targeted at the United States. 

20 (5) Foreign organizations that engage in ter21 rorist activity are so tainted by their criminal con22 duct that any contribution to such an organization 

23 facilitates that conduct. 

24 (6) The imposition of civil liability at every 

25 point along the causal chain of terrorism is necVerDate Mar 15 2010 03:11 Nov 19, 2011 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1894.IS S1894

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1 essary to deter the flow of terrorism’s lifeblood, 

2 money. As recognized by Judge Richard Posner in 

3 Boim v. Holy Land Foundation for Relief and De4 velopment, Nos. 05–1815, 05–1816, 05–1821, 05– 

5 1822, l F.3d l (7th Cir. 2008) (en banc), ‘‘Dam6 ages are a less effective remedy against terrorists 

7 and their organizations than against their financial 

8 angels . . . suits against financiers of terrorism can 

9 cut the terrorists’ lifeline.’’ Moreover, the statute of 

10 limitations for such claims must be extensive, for as 

11 the Seventh Circuit notes, ‘‘Seed money for ter12 rorism can sprout acts of violence long after the in13 vestment’’. 

14 (7) The reasoning like that of the United States 

15 Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in In Re: 

16 Terrorists Attacks on September 11, 2001, 538 

17 F.3d 71 (2d Cir. 2008) undermine important 

18 counter-terrorism policies of the United States, by 

19 affording undue protection from civil liability to per20 sons, entities and states that provide material sup21 port or resources to foreign terrorist organizations, 

22 and by depriving victims of international terrorism 

23 of meaningful access to court to seek redress for 

24 their injuries. 


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1 (8) The United Nations Security Council de2 clared in Resolution 1373, adopted on September 

3 28, 2001, that all states have an affirmative obliga4 tion to ‘‘refrain from providing any form of support, 

5 active or passive, to entities or persons involved in 

6 terrorist acts,’’ and to ‘‘ensure that any person who 

7 participates in the financing, planning, preparation 

8 or perpetration of terrorist acts or in supporting ter9 rorist acts is brought to justice’’. 

10 (9) Consistent with these declarations, no state 

11 possesses the discretion to engage knowingly in the 

12 financing or sponsorship of terrorism, whether di13 rectly or indirectly. 

14 (10) Persons, entities or states that knowingly 

15 or recklessly contribute material support or re16 sources, directly or indirectly, to persons or organi17 zations that pose a significant risk of committing 

18 acts of terrorism that threaten the security of 

19 United States nationals or the national security, for20 eign policy, or economy of the United States, nec21 essarily direct their conduct at the United States, 

22 and should reasonably anticipate being haled into 

23 court in the United States to answer for such activi24 ties. 


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1 (11) The United States has a vital interest in 

2 providing persons and entities injured as a result of 

3 terrorist attacks committed within the United States 

4 with full access to court to pursue civil claims 

5 against persons, entities, or states that have know6 ingly or recklessly provided material support or re7 sources, directly or indirectly, to the persons or or8 ganizations responsible for their injuries. 

9 (b) PURPOSE.—The purpose of this Act is to provide 

10 civil litigants with the fullest possible basis, consistent 

11 with the Constitution, to seek relief against persons, enti12 ties and foreign states, wherever acting and wherever they 

13 may be found, which have provided material support or 

14 resources, directly or indirectly, to foreign organizations 

15 that engage in terrorist activities against the United 

16 States. 

17 SEC. 3. FOREIGN SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY. 

18 (a) EXCEPTIONS.—Section 1605(a) of title 28, 

19 United States Code, is amended— 

20 (1) by amending paragraph (5) to read as fol21 lows: 

22 ‘‘(5) not otherwise encompassed in paragraph 

23 (2), in which money damages are sought against a 

24 foreign state arising out of physical injury or death, 

25 or damage to or loss of property, occurring in the 


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1 United States and caused by the tortious act or 

2 omission of that foreign state or of any official or 

3 employee of that foreign state while acting within 

4 the scope of his office or employment (regardless of 

5 where the underlying tortious act or omission oc6 curs), including any statutory or common law tort 

7 claim arising out of an act of extrajudicial killing, 

8 aircraft sabotage, hostage taking, terrorism, or the 

9 provision of material support or resources for such 

10 an act, or any claim for contribution or indemnity 

11 relating to a claim arising out of such an act, except 

12 this paragraph shall not apply to— 

13 ‘‘(A) any claim based upon the exercise or 

14 performance or the failure to exercise or per15 form a discretionary function, regardless of 

16 whether the discretion is abused; or 

17 ‘‘(B) any claim arising out of malicious 

18 prosecution, abuse of process, libel, slander, 

19 misrepresentation, deceit, interference with con20 tract rights, or any claim for emotional distress 

21 or derivative injury suffered as a result of an 

22 event or injury to another person that occurs 

23 outside of the United States; or’’; and 

24 (2) by inserting after subsection (d) the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of subsection 

2 (a)(5)— 

3 ‘‘(1) the terms ‘aircraft sabotage’, ‘hostage tak4 ing’, and ‘material support or resources’ have the 

5 meanings given those terms in section 1605A(h); 

6 and 

7 ‘‘(2) the term ‘terrorism’ means international 

8 terrorism, and domestic terrorism, as those terms 

9 are defined in section 2331 of title 18.’’. 

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

11 subsection (a) shall apply to all proceedings pending in 

12 any form on the date of the enactment of this Act and 

13 to all proceedings commenced on or after such date of en14 actment. 

15 SEC. 4. AIDING AND ABETTING LIABILITY FOR CIVIL AC16 TIONS REGARDING TERRORIST ACTS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2333 of title 18, United 

18 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol19 lowing: 

20 ‘‘(d) LIABILITY.—In an action arising under sub21 section (a), liability may be asserted as to the person or 

22 persons who committed such act of international terrorism 

23 or any person or entity that aided, abetted, provided mate24 rial support or resources (as defined in section 


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1 2339A(b)(1)) to, or conspired with the person or persons 

2 who committed such an act of international terrorism. 

3 ‘‘(e) NON-APPLICABILITY OF LAW OF PRE4 CLUSION.—Any civil action or claim that seeks recovery 

5 under this chapter for conduct that was the basis of a 

6 civil action or claim previously dismissed for lack of sub7 ject matter jurisdiction for failure to meet the require8 ments for an exception under section 1605(a) of title 28 

9 is not subject to dismissal under the law of preclusion.’’. 

10 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

11 subsection (a) shall apply to all proceedings pending in 

12 any form on the date of the enactment of this Act and 

13 to all proceedings commenced on or after such date of en14 actment. 

15 (c) EFFECT ON FOREIGN SOVEREIGN IMMUNITIES

16 ACT.—Nothing in the amendments made by this section 

17 affects a foreign state’s immunity from jurisdiction under 

18 other law. 

19 SEC. 5. JURISDICTION FOR CIVIL ACTIONS REGARDING 

20 TERRORIST ACTS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2334 of title 18, United 

22 States Code, is amended by inserting at the end the fol23 lowing: 

24 ‘‘(e) JURISDICTION.—The district courts shall have 

25 personal jurisdiction, to the maximum extent permissible 


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1 under the Fifth Amendment of the United States Con2 stitution, over any person who aids and abets an act of 

3 international terrorism or who provides material support 

4 or resources as set forth in sections 2339A, 2339B, or 

5 2339C of this title, for acts of international terrorism in 

6 which any national of the United States suffers injury in 

7 his or her person, property or business by reason of such 

8 an act in violation of section 2333 of this title.’’. 

9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

10 this section shall apply to all proceedings pending in any 

11 form on the date of the enactment of this Act and to all 

12 proceedings commenced on or after such the date of enact13 ment. 

14 SEC. 6. LIABILITY FOR GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS IN CIVIL 

15 ACTIONS REGARDING TERRORIST ACTS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2337 of title 18, United 

17 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘§ 2337. Suits against Government officials 

19 ‘‘No action shall be maintained under section 2333 

20 of this title against the United States, an agency of the 

21 United States, or an officer or employee of the United 

22 States or any agency thereof acting within his or her offi23 cial capacity or under color of legal authority.’’. 

24 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made by 

25 this section shall apply to all proceedings pending in any 


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1 form on the date of the enactment of this Act and to all 

2 proceedings commenced on or after such date of enact3 ment. 

4 SEC. 7. STATUTE OF LIMITATIONS FOR CIVIL ACTIONS RE5 GARDING TERRORIST ACTS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2335 of title 18, United 

7 States Code, is amended— 

8 (1) in subsection (a), by striking ‘‘four years’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘15 years’’; and 

10 (2) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘four years’’ 

11 and inserting ‘‘15 years’’. 

12 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by 

13 this section shall apply to all proceedings pending in any 

14 form on the date of the enactment of this Act and to all 

15 proceedings commenced on or after such date of enact16 ment. 

17 (c) EFFECT ON DISMISSED CAUSES OF ACTION.— 

18 Any private civil action arising from a violation of the 

19 Anti-Terrorism Act of 1991— 

20 (1) that was dismissed as time barred prior to 

21 the date of enactment of this Act, and 

22 (2) that would have been timely filed pursuant 

23 to section 2335 of title 18, United States Code, as 

24 amended by this section, 


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1 may be refiled not later than 90 days after the date of 

2 enactment of this Act. 

3 SEC. 8. SEVERABILITY. 

4 If any provision of this Act or the amendments made 

5 by this Act or the application thereof to any person or 

6 circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of this Act, 

7 the amendments made by this Act, or the application 

8 thereof to other persons not similarly situated or to other 

9 circumstances shall not be affected by such invalidation. 

Æ 


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