JURISDICTION FOR LAWSUITS AGAINST TERRORIST STATES.

SEC. 221. JURISDICTION FOR LAWSUITS AGAINST TERRORIST STATES. (a) Exception to Foreign Sovereign Immunity for Certain Cases.— Section 1605 of title 28, United States Code, is amended— (1) in subsection (a)— (A) by striking “or” at the end of paragraph (5); (B) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (6) and inserting “; or”; and (C) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(7) not otherwise covered by paragraph (2), in which money damages are sought against a foreign state for personal injury or death that was caused by an act of torture, extrajudicial killing, aircraft sabotage, hostage taking, or the provision of material support or resources (as defined in section 2339A of title 18) for such an act if such act or provision of material support is engaged in by an official, employee, or agent of such foreign state while acting within the scope of his or her office, employment, or agency, except that the court shall decline to hear a claim under this paragraph— “(A) if the foreign state was not designated as a state sponsor of terrorism under section 6(j) of the Export Administration Act of 1979 (50 U.S.C. App. 2405(j)) or section 620A of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2371) at the time the act occurred, unless later so designated as a result of such act; and “(B) even if the foreign state is or was so designated, if— “(i) the act occurred in the foreign state against which the claim has been brought and the claimant has not afforded the foreign state a reasonable opportunity to arbitrate the claim in accordance with accepted international rules of arbitration; or “(ii) the claimant or victim was not a national of the United States (as that term is defined in section 101(a)(22) of the Immigration and Nationality Act) when the act upon which the claim is based occurred.”; and (2) by adding at the end the following: “(e) For purposes of paragraph (7) of subsection (a)— “(1) the terms ‘torture’ and ‘extrajudicial killing’ have the meaning given those terms in section 3 of the Torture Victim Protection Act of 1991; “(2) the term ‘hostage taking’ has the meaning given that term in Article 1 of the International Convention Against the Taking of Hostages; and 110 STAT. 1242 “(3) the term ‘aircraft sabotage’ has the meaning given that term in Article 1 of the Convention for the Suppression of Unlawful Acts Against the Safety of Civil Aviation. “(f) No action shall be maintained under subsection (a)(7) unless the action is commenced not later than 10 years after the date on which the cause of action arose. All principles of equitable tolling, including the period during which the foreign state was immune from suit, shall apply in calculating this limitation period. “(g) Limitation on Discovery.— “(1) In general.— (A) Subject to paragraph (2), if an action is filed that would otherwise be barred by section 1604, but for subsection (a)(7), the court, upon request of the Attorney General, shall stay any request, demand, or order for discovery on the United States that the Attorney General certifies would significantly interfere with a criminal investigation or prosecution, or a national security operation, related to the incident that gave rise to the cause of action, until such time as the Attorney General advises the court that such request, demand, or order will no longer so interfere. “(B) A stay under this paragraph shall be in effect during the 12-month period beginning on the date on which the court issues the order to stay discovery. The court shall renew the order to stay discovery for additional 12-month periods upon motion by the United States if the Attorney General certifies that discovery would significantly interfere with a criminal investigation or prosecution, or a national security operation, related to the incident that gave rise to the cause of action. “(2) Sunset.— (A) Subject to subparagraph (B), no stay shall be granted or continued in effect under paragraph (1) after the date that is 10 years after the date on which the incident that gave rise to the cause of action occurred. “(B) After the period referred to in subparagraph (A), the court, upon request of the Attorney General, may stay any request, demand, or order for discovery on the United States that the court finds a substantial likelihood would— “(i) create a serious threat of death or serious bodily injury to any person; “(ii) adversely affect the ability of the United States to work in cooperation with foreign and international law enforcement agencies in investigating violations of United States law; or “(iii) obstruct the criminal case related to the incident that gave rise to the cause of action or undermine the potential for a conviction in such case. “(3) Evaluation of evidence.— The court’s evaluation of any request for a stay under this subsection filed by the Attorney General shall be conducted ex parte and in camera. “(4) Bar on motions to dismiss.— A stay of discovery under this subsection shall constitute a bar to the granting of a motion to dismiss under rules 12(b)(6) and 56 of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure. “(5) Construction.— Nothing in this subsection shall prevent the United States from seeking protective orders or asserting privileges ordinarily available to the United States.”. (b) Exception to Immunity From Attachment.— (1) Foreign state.— Section 1610(a) of title 28, United States Code, is amended— 110 STAT. 1243 (A) by striking the period at the end of paragraph (6) and inserting “, or”; and (B) by adding at the end the following new paragraph: “(7) the judgment relates to a claim for which the foreign state is not immune under section 1605(a)(7), regardless of whether the property is or was involved with the act upon which the claim is based.”. (2) Agency or instrumentality.— Section 1610(b)(2) of title 28, United States Code, is amended— (A) by striking “or (5)” and inserting “(5), or (7)”; and (B) by striking “used for the activity” and inserting “involved in the act”. (c) Applicability.— The amendments made by this subtitle shall apply to any cause of action arising before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act.