Congress is about to pass a 9/11 that would allow families of 9/11 victims to sue the Saudi Government. Does this open a 'Pandora's box' where other foreign governments like Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, etc..can sue the US government? Very interesting bill.
1 Answer
Not as much as some people seem to think. 28 USC 1605 already allows suing foreign governments, so this isn't violating some huge legal taboo. Libya was successfully sued over Pan Am Flight 103. The new bill extends the existing right in some way (I don't have the sitzfleisch to distill out the difference at the moment).
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I guess I should've been more clear. I am not referring to foreign governments suing one another but rather a civilian(person not in government position) suing a foreign government– NoahSep 22, 2016 at 22:15
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The existing law was used by civilians, e.g. the cases of Letelier, Liu, and Pan Am Flight 103, so in that respect there is no change.– user6726Sep 22, 2016 at 23:11