§2334 Jurisdiction and venue

Summary

You can file a civil lawsuit under the federal law for victims of international terrorism in any U.S. federal district where a plaintiff lives, or where a defendant lives, is served, or has an agent. Court papers can be served where the defendant lives, is found, or has an agent. If the harmful acts happened in the United States’ special maritime and territorial area, the same place rules apply. A witness may be served in any district where the defendant lives, is found, or has an agent. A court must not dismiss a case as inconvenient unless a foreign court has power over the case and all defendants, that foreign court is clearly much more convenient, and that foreign court gives a remedy that is essentially the same as a U.S. court. Certain defendants are treated as agreeing to be sued in U.S. courts if they do specific things after set dates. They are treated as consenting if, after the date that is 120 days after the date of the enactment of the Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act of 2019, they make payments tied to imprisonment or death of people who committed terrorism that injured or killed a U.S. national; or if, after 15 days after the date of enactment of the Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act of 2019, they keep or open offices or other facilities in the United States, or do activities while physically in the United States on behalf of the Palestine Liberation Organization or the Palestinian Authority. That consent stops if they stop those payments and activities for 5 consecutive calendar years. Except for the payments above, giving assistance to a nongovernmental group does not count as consent. The rule does not count activities done only for United Nations business, certain U.S.-approved activities, meetings or training arranged by the U.S., legal work tied to these matters, or small related actions. Any facility in U.S. territory that is not exempt counts as being in the United States. “Defendant” here means the Palestinian Authority; the Palestine Liberation Organization; any successor or affiliated organization; and any entity that is identified as, or acts as, the “State of Palestine” for official U.N. business.