Opinion ID: 1389134
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 2

Heading: Salvadoran Amnesty Law

Text: The Salvadoran Amnesty Law was passed by the Salvadoran Legislature in order to provide amnesty to all those who participated in political or common crimes during the civil war in El Salvador before 1992. See Decreto Legislativo 486 de 3/22/93 Aprueba la Ley Sobre la Amnistía General para la Consolidación de la Paz [Legislative Decree 486 of 3/22/93 Approving the General Amnesty Law for Consolidation of the Peace], Diario Oficial, 23 de Marzo de 1993 (E.S.). The purpose of the Salvadoran Amnesty Law is to reconcile and reunite the Salvadoran family by promulgating, and immediately implementing, legal provisions that protect the right of the entire Salvadoran population to fully conduct its activities in harmony, and a climate of trust and respect for all social sectors. Carranza claims that he is entitled to amnesty pursuant to the Salvadoran Amnesty Law. [1] He argues that the district court erred when it declined to apply the Salvadoran Amnesty Law to plaintiffs' claims. We review the district court's decision not to grant comity to the Salvadoran Amnesty Law for an abuse of discretion. See, e.g., Bigio v. Coca-Cola Co., 448 F.3d 176, 178 (2d Cir.2006); Stonington Partners, Inc. v. Lernout & Hauspie Speech Prods. N.V., 310 F.3d 118, 121-22 (3d Cir.2002); cf. Taveras v. Taveraz, 477 F.3d 767, 783 (6th Cir.2007) ([T]he theory of comity can serve as a discretionary basis for a court to determine whether a foreign country court's judgment should be given preclusive effect.). International comity is the recognition which one nation allows within its territory to the legislative, executive or judicial acts of another nation, having due regard both to international duty and convenience, and to the rights of its own citizens or other persons who are under the protection of its laws. Hilton v. Guyot, 159 U.S. 113, 164, 16 S.Ct. 139, 40 L.Ed. 95 (1895). In order for an issue of comity to arise, there must be an actual conflict between the domestic and foreign law. Hartford Fire Ins. Co. v. Cal., 509 U.S. 764, 798, 113 S.Ct. 2891, 125 L.Ed.2d 612 (1993). There is no conflict for comity purposes where a person subject to regulation by two states can comply with the laws of both. Id. at 799 (quoting RESTATEMENT (THIRD) FOREIGN RELATIONS LAW § 403 cmt. e (1987)). There is no conflict between domestic and foreign law because the Salvadoran Amnesty Law cannot be interpreted to apply extraterritorially. A statute must not be interpreted as having extraterritorial effect without a clear indication that it was intended to apply outside the country enacting it. BMW Stores, Inc. v. Peugeot Motors of Am., Inc., 860 F.2d 212, 215 n. 1 (6th Cir.1988). There is nothing in the Salvadoran Amnesty Law to suggest that it should apply or was intended to apply outside of El Salvador. Moreover, compliance with both domestic law and the Salvadoran Amnesty Law is possible. Plaintiffs may be barred from filing suit in El Salvador, but they are not barred from filing suit in the United States. Likewise, if Carranza were living in El Salvador, he would likely be immune from suit. However, he is a citizen and resident of the United States and is therefore subject to civil liability for his violations of the ATS and TVPA. In addition, the Republic of El Salvador, as amicus, argues that this case would be rejected if it were brought in El Salvador- further demonstrating that Salvadoran courts can apply the Salvadoran Amnesty Law domestically without undermining the jurisdiction of United States courts. Carranza's reliance on F. Hoffmann-LaRoche v. Empagran, 542 U.S. 155, 124 S.Ct. 2359, 159 L.Ed.2d 226 (2004), is misplaced. In Empagran, the Supreme Court interpreted an antitrust statute, the Foreign Trade Antitrust Improvements Act of 1982 (FTAI), which expressly places extraterritorial limits on the application of the Sherman Act. With some exceptions, the FTAI provides that the Sherman Act shall not apply to conduct involving trade or commerce ... with foreign nations. Id. at 158, 124 S.Ct. 2359 (quoting 15 U.S.C. § 6a). In reaching its conclusion, the Supreme Court did not address the ATS or TVPA, nor did it discuss international comity. Therefore, Empagran is of little relevance to the law at issue in this case.