[ql06] TORT: Falun Gong uses foreign laws such as U.S. Alien Claims Tort Act
- From: "Ken Campbell -- LAW'06" <2kc16@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <ql06@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 28 Sep 2003 06:48:52 -0400
Most interesting section:
Virtually all Falun Gong activism these days comes
from abroad; mainland followers have gone into hiding.
It is unclear how many mainland Chinese are Falun Gong
practitioners.
The court cases apply foreign laws such as the U.S.
Alien Claims Tort Act to crimes committed in China -
the same principle under which, in 1998, a Spanish
judge ordered former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet
to face charges of crimes against humanity.
China is believed to be exerting considerable
diplomatic pressure to have the suits dismissed.
I am well aware of the F. Gong gang...
But I'd never heard of the "Alien Claims Tort Act" -- so I dug around.
Created 1798. "Alien Tort Claims Act" granted jurisdiction to US Federal
Courts over "any civil action by an alien for a tort only, committed in
violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United States."
In other words, it would _seem_ that U.S. courts claim jurisdiction over
_non-criminal abuses_ anywhere that violate "international law."
An early shot at "international justice" -- when the U.S. was in a very
revolutionary mood and the U.K. was the global power.
It was pretty much forgotten until 1978. First use: Paraguayan man
living in U.S. sues Paraguay cop for killing his son; awarded $10
million USD. (Problem: How does he collect? The main criteria for award
collection is whether the defendant has substantial assets in the
U.S.A., which a U.S. court has jurisdiction over.)
Since, it's been used against Li Peng, former Chinese premier, Robert
Mugabe, Zimbabwe prez, General Johny Lumintang, former Indonesian chief
of staff in East Timor -- women who alleged being raped by Serb troops
in Bosnia sued Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, got multi-million
dollar award from Manhattan jury.
Because of that asset problem, some shit-disturbing lawyers with
international human rights interests (a la CLAIHR) decided to try to use
it against transnational corporations for rights abuses ("torts
committed in violation of the law of nations or a treaty of the United
States").
Suddenly, the ancient Act is a hot topic in the U.S. There's a corporate
move to remove companies from it's reach.
Their arguments probably line up like this:
[ ] Remoteness: Even if we are technically involved, we
have no way of knowing what might be happening "on
the ground" in Burma/wherever.
[ ] Statute Intent: Surely the writers, in 1789, were
talking about governments, not businesses. It doesn't
apply.
[ ] Obsolescence: Nobody even knew about this stupid
thing until recently. Get rid of it.
My guess: They will probably be able to make their case and win,
absolving transnationals of tortious responsibility per the Act.
There's an online petition to stop the repeal of the Act
Defend ATCA
Stop U.S. corporations from violating and abusing human
rights overseas - protect the Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA).
Sponsored by: www.notortureforprofit.org
Run by "EarthRights International" -- some researchers, organizers, and
lawyers.
Ken.
--
Negative. We are not in the Eighth Dimension. We are
over New Jersey.
-- Buckaroo Bonzai
--- cut here ---
Falun Gong Turns To Intl Courts; China's Leaders Furious
BEIJING (AP) -- September 25, 2003 -- When street demonstrations and
mass telephone-call campaigns to protest Chinese government persecution
fizzled, followers of the Falun Gong spiritual movement did what many
aggrieved parties do: They sued - in countries other than China.
Over the past 18 months, followers of the group banned by the Chinese
government as an "evil cult" have filed at least a dozen suits in
foreign courts against Chinese officials they accuse of rights abuses.
Their biggest target: former President Jiang Zemin.
It's the latest tactic in an ongoing, high-profile campaign to draw
attention to China's often brutal three-year-old crackdown on the group.
If the object is to rile China's leaders, who are protected at home by
the Communist Party's political monopoly, it seems to be working.
"They are stigmatizing the leaders of China with invented charges.
They're trying to tarnish our government, and they are trying to grab
attention for themselves," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Kong Quan
said this week.
Recent weeks have seen a flurry of new cases in Finland, Iceland,
Belgium, France, and Australia. The group says it has signed on
high-profile lawyers such as British human rights attorney Geoffrey
Robertson to represent them.
"The purpose of these cases is simple and specific: to target those
responsible for the persecution. This is not a political campaign
against the Chinese government," said Levi Browde, a Falun Gong
spokesman in the United States.
Virtually all Falun Gong activism these days comes from abroad; mainland
followers have gone into hiding. It is unclear how many mainland Chinese
are Falun Gong practitioners.
The court cases apply foreign laws such as the U.S. Alien Claims Tort
Act to crimes committed in China - the same principle under which, in
1998, a Spanish judge ordered former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet
to face charges of crimes against humanity.
China is believed to be exerting considerable diplomatic pressure to
have the suits dismissed. Yet even if the lawsuits fail, which is
likely, Falun Gong may still be able to claim public-opinion points.
"It's a good strategy. Because if you win, or even if you don't, you can
call attention to what you're doing and bring shame and blame against
your opponent," said Michael Davis, a professor of law and government at
Hong Kong's Chinese University.
The legal campaign scored an early success against a pair of lower-level
Chinese officials when American judges ruled they didn't merit immunity
and found them guilty of human rights abuses by default.
But a U.S. federal judge in Chicago dismissed a case against Jiang on
grounds that courts can exempt foreign leaders from civil lawsuits in
the United States if the government advises. The U.S. government in that
case filed a friend-of-the-court petition requesting dismissal,
reportedly after China threatened a diplomatic rift.
Falun Gong's lawyer, Terry Marsh, says an appeal is being prepared.
"It is time for the people of China to learn that their government has
lied to them ... that the Jiang regime has committed crimes of torture
and genocide," Marsh said.
Falun Gong's legal teams have identified Jiang as their main target,
saying that as president and Communist Party general secretary he was
responsible for the crackdown. Other leaders being sued include Beijing
party chief Liu Qi and Luo Gan, members of the party's Politburo and
among the country's most powerful men.
Falun Gong alleges the government has detained and mistreated thousands
of followers and killed hundreds through torture or abuse. China denies
abusing anyone but says some have died in custody in suicides or from
refusing food or medical care.
The group attracted millions of followers in the 1990s with its regimen
of meditation and light calisthenics and philosophy mixing Buddhism,
Taoism and the unorthodox teachings of founder Li Hongzhi, a former
government grain clerk who now lives in the United States.
Shaken by the size of its following and organizational ability, China
banned Falun Gong in 1999 and launched a massive propaganda campaign to
demonize it. Top leaders were sentenced to long prison terms and tens of
thousands of rank and file members sent to labor camps where they were
forced to attend lengthy sessions condemning the group.
Followers held public protests for the first couple of years, then moved
on to clandestinely distributing pamphlets and CD-ROMs. Later, they used
recorded telephone messages to argue their case and hijacked
cable-television satellites to show their own footage.
Recent propaganda suggests the government remains concerned. In early
September, an editorial by the government's official Xinhua News Agency
appeared in many major newspapers, demanding a "fight until the end"
against Falun Gong.
"Any tolerance toward the cult will lead to extreme harm to the general
public," it said.
-Edited by Ryan Woo
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