Samantar v. Yousuf: U.S. Supreme Court Amicus Brief on Behalf of Holocaust Survivors and Darfur Genocide Groups

43 Pages Posted: 18 Feb 2012

See all articles by Gregory S. Gordon

Gregory S. Gordon

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) - Faculty of Law

Sonya D. Winner

affiliation not provided to SSRN

Date Written: February 15, 2012

Abstract

In the case of Samantar v. Yousuf, the United States Supreme Court had to decide whether a former Somali Prime Minister, accused of torturing his own people while in office, should be immune from liability in U.S. courts on grounds of sovereign immunity (in particular, pursuant to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act). The sovereign immunity defense featured prominently in cases brought against former Nazi officials in the wake of the Holocaust, including the landmark Nuremberg and Eichmann trials. Modern international criminal tribunals have also relied on this precedent to reject the sovereign immunity defense for gross human rights violations committed in Rwanda, Darfur and the former Yugoslavia. This amicus brief illuminates the connection between the defense as asserted in the Samantar case and its treatment and rejection in the Holocaust and modern cases.

Keywords: sovereign Immunity defense, atrocities, Holocaust, international criminal law, alien tort statute

Suggested Citation

Gordon, Gregory S. and Winner, Sonya D., Samantar v. Yousuf: U.S. Supreme Court Amicus Brief on Behalf of Holocaust Survivors and Darfur Genocide Groups (February 15, 2012). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2006022 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.2006022

Gregory S. Gordon (Contact Author)

The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) - Faculty of Law ( email )

6/F, Lee Shau Kee Building
The Chinese University of Hong Kong Main Campus
Sha Tin, New Territories
Hong Kong

HOME PAGE: http://www.law.cuhk.edu.hk/app/people/prof-gregory-gordon/

Sonya D. Winner

affiliation not provided to SSRN

No Address Available

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