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Article

8 Aug 2018

Author:
EarthRights Intl.

US Govt. opposes immunity of intl. orgs. from lawsuits in support of case over damage from power plant financed by Intl. Finance Corp. in India

"U.S. Government Opposes “Absolute” Immunity for World Bank Group in Brief to SCOTUS", 1 Aug 2018

...[T]he U.S. Government urged the U.S. Supreme Court to reverse a lower court decision holding that international organizations like the World Bank Group are entitled to “absolute immunity” from lawsuits in U.S. Courts...[T]he Government’s brief argues...that such organizations...should be subject to suit for injuries arising out of their commercial activities.  The brief supports the Plaintiffs in Jam v. International Finance Corporation (IFC), who with EarthRights International (ERI) filed suit against the IFC...for its role in funding a destructive power plant project in Gujarat, India that has devastated their community and the local environment.  The IFC has not denied that the harms have occurred, instead it has simply argued that it is immune and cannot be held liable...

The Plaintiffs, filed their opening brief last week explaining why the D.C. Circuit’s holding is wrong and the IFC is not immune from suits for commercial activity.  The US Government’s...adds substantial weight to that argument...A number of other amicus curiae...briefs were also filed this week, including briefs by a bipartisan group of a Members of Congress, International Law Scholars, and environmental, human rights, and development-focused advocacy organizations that have experience working with the IFC, all arguing that the D.C. Circuit’s absolute immunity holding is wrong and should be reversed...

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