http://counterterrorismblog.org/2008/07/libya_should_remain_accountabl.php
Libya Should Remain Accountable to the Victims of Terrorism By Victor Comras A rumor is circulating through the blogging community that Congress is poised to take up legislation that would effectively eliminate victims of terrorism lawsuits against Libya. The legislation would relieve Libya from any direct responsibility to the victims for its state support of terrorism. Instead, the Secretary of State would designate an entity to serve in the capacity of a "claims commission," to evaluate such claims and then negotiate a blanket deal with Libya for their settlement. This proposed legislation would, in effect, gut key provisions of the Anti Terrorism Act of 1996 and the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 2001. That legislation allows for the victims of terrorism to seek treble damages for providing material support to designated terrorist entities, and would also allow such civil lawsuits to be brought against countries that have been designated as state sponsors of terrorism. Libya used to be on that list, and would now, post facto, be immune from lawsuits relating to such acts of terrorism. This would weaken, not strengthen our measures against terrorists. The current Anti Terrorism Act provides for triple damages in terrorism support cases as a way to discourage material support from being made available to terrorists and to demonstrate our overall approbation for such actions. The methodology to be used by a claims tribunal may relate only to demonstration of actual economic losses, overlooking these punitive considerations. And it's not clear that any award would take into account actual pain and suffering. This process would likely make it even more difficult for victims of terrorism to enlist legal help and support for their cause from outside the government. I also believe this proposed legislation would be a great mistake as it would politicize such claims arrangements, and would make the granting or removal of immunity from lawsuits a matter of contention in our bilateral relations, since sole discretion would reside with the Secretary of State. This would make the State Department a vulnerable pressure point, vulnerable to leverage on other bilateral issues. It makes so much more sense to leave such issues beyond the control of the State Department -- and with the legislature and courts. Let's hope that appropriate time is taken to consider the merits and demerits of this legislation, through the normal hearing process. July 30, 2008 04:57 PM Print <http://counterterrorismblog.org/2008/07/print/libya_should_remain_accountab l.php> [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] ------------------------------------ -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtmlYahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> Your email settings: Individual Email | Traditional <*> To change settings online go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/join (Yahoo! ID required) <*> To change settings via email: mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
