Law gives new tool to punish evil

The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act allows people who have been affected by acts of terror to use all of the tools of U.S. civil litigation to get the truth about the involvement of foreign governments in terror plots.

In this case, the statute would allow the families of 9/11 victims to get the truth about the involvement of the government of Saudi Arabia in the 9/11 conspiracy.

With JASTA in place, family members of the 9/11 victims will now be able to use civil litigation tools in U.S. courts — like document requests, depositions and subpoenas for banking records and electronic communications.

And if, through these tools, enough information comes to light about the involvement of the Saudi government in the 9/11 conspiracy, it would now be possible for Saudi government officials to be held liable.

The law’s essential operative section would strip sovereign immunity away from the Saudi government. Doing so allows families of 9/11 victims to legally bring the complaint in U.S. courts and use civil discovery tools to try to prove their case.

Prior to this law, sovereign immunity — the legal doctrine in international law under which foreign states are immune from civil litigation and criminal prosecution — would have prevented individuals from suing foreign governments, even if everything alleged in the suit could be proven to be true. This law creates an exception to that for terrorism.

President Obama has said this law will be harmful. He points to the possibility that it will open up members of the U.S. military and the U.S. government to suits from families of victims of U.S. military action, or covert action, abroad, or from foreign governments, like the Yemenis or Pakistanis. That concern is real.

But based on my experiences representing American families who lost loved ones in acts of terror perpetrated by the Palestine Liberation Organization in Jerusalem, I believe people like the families of the 9/11 victims deserve a chance to learn the truth.