The Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act, also known as JASTA, would allow terrorists’ victims, including the families of 9/11 victims, to sue foreign governments (in the case of September 11th, Saudi Arabia) for the actions of its citizens, government officials, and state-sponsored charities that assisted the terrorists.
The bill has begun discussions about whether or not civilian courts should try foreign countries for acts of terrorism and whether or not another response would be more just. Roshanak Taghavi discusses the issues surrounding JASTA in the September 9, 2016 issue of Newsweek.
JASTA was passed by the U.S. Senate in the spring and now is being considered in the House of Representatives. If it does not pass before the end of the month, the entire process will begin again next year.
