Compensating Victims of Terrorism
Modern terrorism has forced policy makers to reexamine the ways in which society has traditionally compensated the victims of catastrophic harm. Particularly since 9/11, victims of terrorism have begun to play a major role in shaping compensation and related policies. Victim compensation is a complex and evolving policy area, and victim-related polices have often been afterthoughts for Congressional decision makers. This project focuses on victims’ evolving role, their compensation, and their contributions to securing the nation. These victim-related polices range from complex, government-funded compensation schemes like the September 11 Victims Compensation Fund (9/11 Fund), to tort suits against charities serving people in the Middle East. The purpose of this project is to analyze alternative compensation schemes and antiterrorism civil litigation in order to guide Congress and policy makers in developing victim compensation policies.
The Victim Compensation Project focuses on two areas of inquiry. The first involves questions of how to provide compensation for victims of terrorism – through the generosity of charitable organizations, a publicly-funded compensation scheme, private insurance, tort suits or some combination. Of course, in making this determination, Congress is also concerned with the effects of related tort suits against businesses that provide for the security and safety of citizens. The suits often have negative economic and security consequences. Congress should craft compensation schemes, define federal jurisdiction, and set liability standards carefully in order to strike the right balance between security needs and commerce. The second inquiry probes the victims’ role in deterring attacks through suits against terrorists, terrorist organizations, and their supporters. Congress and the federal courts must balance numerous factors in shaping federal jurisdiction and interpreting the liability rules for victim suits–the deterrence value of civil suits, the effect of such suits on foreign relations, and the inadvertent effect on First Amendment protections and charitable giving.
The Victim Compensation Project is organized around these topics as described below.
Litigation against Terrorists and their Sponsors - State and Private
