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FSIA: Military or Terror Action?
On November 3, 2009, the United States District Court for the District of Columbia dismissed the complaint in the matter Baumel v. the Syrian Arab Republic, docket number 06-682.
On June 11, 1982, the Syrian Army captured Zachary Baumel, an American citizen and member of the Israeli Defense Forces Armored Corps, in Lebanon. He was taken to Damascus where he was displayed as a trophy of war in a victory parade. Since then, Baumel has not been seen or contacted by friends, family, or members of the international community. The plaintiffs, representing the Baumel family, sued the Syrian government for several claims including battery, assault, and solatium, and asked for punitive damages.
The plaintiffs filed the suit on April 14, 2006 under 28 USC §1605(a)(7), the FSIA exception for state sponsors of terrorism, and then amended their complaint under §1605A on July 14, 2009. The new statute gave plaintiffs with pending suits against state sponsors of terrorism the ability to sue for solatium and ask for punitive damages.
The defendants argued that the amendment to the claim was time-barred. The statute gave pending suits 60 days to re-file their claim under §1605A after its enactment on January 28, 2008. The court agreed with Syria that the plaintiffs had brought their cause of action against Syria a year too late.
Also, the court found that the plaintiffs' cause of action under 28 USC §605(a)(7) failed. The court concluded that it is not an act of 'terrorism' for a designated foreign state to fail to release a combatant captured on the battlefield upon cessation of military hostilities. Therefore, the exception to Syria's immunity under 28 USC §1605(a)(7) did not apply in this case. -- Laura P. Valle, legal assistant, Berliner, Corcoran & Rowe, LLP, Washington D.C.
Mon, / Embassy Law Link