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Summary:
A 1996 amendment to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) enables American victims of international terrorist acts supported by certain States designated by the State Department as sponsors of terrorism -- Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Sudan, Syria, and previously Iraq and Libya -- to bring suit in U.S. courts for damages. Despite congressional efforts to make blocked (or "frozen") assets of such States available for attachment by judgment creditors in such cases, plaintiffs encountered difficulties in enforcing the awards. Congress passed, as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for FY2008 (NDAA) (H.R. 1585), an amendment to the FSIA to provide a federal cause of action against terrorist States and to facilitate enforcement of judgments. After the President vetoed the NDAA based on the possible impact the measure would have on Iraqi assets, Congress passed a new version, P.L. 110-181 (H.R. 4986), which includes authority for the President to waive the FSIA provision with respect to Iraq. Congress later passed a measure to exempt Libya if it agrees to compensate victims (S. 3370). This report, which will be updated, provides an overview of these issues and relevant legislation (H.R. 5167). For more details, see CRS Report RL31258, Suits Against Terrorist States by Victims of Terrorism, by Jennifer K. Elsea.
