More lawmakers are now urging the Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to bring the Chinese regime to an international court for their cover-up of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus. Two states have announced they’re suing “Communist China” for damages.
Mississippi Attorney General Lynn Fitch announced she plans to sue the Chinese regime for allegedly concealing the origin and initial spread of the CCP virus. She says they put millions of Americans at risk and caused economic chaos.
Mississippi becomes the second state to sue the regime. Missouri was the first. Several private firms have dragged communist China into court, alleging the CCP’s cover-up of the outbreak has led to the virus spreading worldwide.
But how exactly does a state sue a foreign country?
After filing in the state’s district court, they need to show the court has jurisdiction to hear the case in the first place. Usually, foreign countries are immune to U.S. lawsuits—so other countries return the favor and don’t sue the United States—unless there is an exception, like engaging in commercial activity.
Professor of International Law at New York University, José Enrique Alvarez, told NTD the attorney general might have a hard time showing this exception.
“The kinds of things they’re talking about is hoarding of personal protective equipment, social media censorship, transmitting wrong information to the world health organization. That is hard to connect to commercial activity. It is very directly related to Chinese government activity,” Alvarez said.
Without jurisdiction, the case is thrown out. But if the case goes forward and the American state wins, they can only seize assets located within the United States.
For example, Missouri included the Chinese Academy of Sciences in the lawsuit, so they could only seize the Academy’s assets in the United States if they win the case, which there might not be any.
Several lawmakers are calling for legal action in the international arena.
New York Congresswoman Elise Stefanik is now joining a wave of lawmakers urging the state department and U.S. Attorney General to bring a case against the Chinese regime.
The lawsuit would condemn the Communist party for allegedly failing to uphold International Health Regulations or IHR. It would be filed in the International Court of Justice, part of the United Nations. The court is located in The Hague, Netherlands.
“And so there could very well be, and it’s likely to be in fact, that instances where China violates their duty under the IHR, and international law, like all law, says that if the state violates international law, then you are owed under state rules of state responsibility, reparation, including the potential for damages,” Alvarez said.
If the regime refuses to submit to a fair trial in the International Court of Justice, states can push Beijing to do so by removing China from global organizations. They can also revoke China’s membership in the World Trade Organization.
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