By Matthew Little
The Epoch Times
The World Organization Against Torture, USA has filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, citing well established legal doctrine that would exclude former Chinese President Jiang Zemin from head of state immunity. A similar friend of the court brief was filed recently by University of Houston Law Professor Jordan J. Paust and co-signed by 13 other academics with expertise in international law.
In October of 2002, Falun Gong practitioners filed a class action lawsuit against Jiang and the “6-10 Office” that he reportedly created to oversee the persecution of Falun Gong, in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois. They charged the Chinese ruler with genocide and other crimes.
Judge Matthew F. Kennelly dismissed the suit last September on grounds that Jiang had head of state immunity and that the court had no jurisdiction to hear a case against the “6-10 0ffice.”
Plaintiffs then filed a motion to reopen the case that Judge Kennelly denied one week later. In response, Falun Gong practitioners filed an appeal in November.
In his supporting brief, Professor Paust writes, “The District Court’s opinion in this case contains errors and uses improper legal standards with respect to the issue of former head of state immunity…In particular, former heads of state have generally not been granted immunity for human rights violations, including systematic torture, disappearance, summary execution or prolonged arbitrary detention.”
WOAT, USA Executive Director Morton Sklar notes in his brief that “Judge Kennelly failed to properly recognize that certain violations of international human rights norms, such as torture and genocide, are not subject to immunity protections under any circumstances.”
Both briefs point out that Jiang is even less subject to head of state immunity because he is no longer the president of China and several of his offenses were committed after he had already left office.
The briefs also criticize the lower court’s decision to grant immunity based on arguments from the executive branch of the U.S. government, which had no standing in the case. That Kennelly accepted executive branch arguments over legal precedent contravenes the separation of powers that keeps the judiciary independent of the executive branch of the government.
David Gallup, President and General Counsel of World Service Authority has also written to support the lawsuit and says, “A denial to hear this case, on the part of the U.S., violates the Geneva Convention.”
Other amicus briefs supporting the Falun Gong lawsuit may be filed in the weeks ahead. There are currently lawsuits against Jiang or Luo Gan, head of the “6-10 Office,” in 12 countries around the world.
Posting date: 6/Feb/2004
Original article date: 4/Feb/2004
Category: Media Report
