Distinguished members of the committee, I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today about part 1 of Bill C-10, the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act.
I am the executive director of the Canadian Centre for International Justice, which is based here in Ottawa.
CCIJ is a charitable organization that works with survivors of torture, genocide, and other atrocities to seek redress and to bring the perpetrators of these crimes to justice. I am a lawyer, and I previously directed the global campaign, based in New York, to establish the International Criminal Court.
I want to say first that I think it's very positive that Parliament is considering creating a cause of action that allows victims of terrorism to sue perpetrators of terrorism and their supporters, as part 1 of Bill C-10 would do. Victims of such serious violations of international law as terrorism need recognition, support, compensation, and other forms of redress. I know that the families of those killed in the Air India bombing and those who lost family members in the September 11 attacks in New York have waited for many years to have a bill passed that will allow them to seek redress from those responsible for acts of terrorism.
I also believe firmly in the possibility that at least some of those who plan and carry out such horrific acts of violence can be deterred if it becomes likely that they'll be held responsible in a court of law. Those dual goals of allowing victims to seek redress and deterring future atrocities of this magnitude are at the heart of a global trend towards creating and using mechanisms that allow foreign governments, and even their individual officials, to be held responsible in courts of law.
With that general statement of endorsement for the goals behind the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act, I'll focus my remarks on the sections that seek to amend Canada's State Immunity Act so that the act cannot be used to shield foreign governments and their agents from lawsuits for terrorism.
There are three key points I want to put forward today. The first is that I think it's entirely appropriate, and indeed overdue, for the State Immunity Act to be amended in this way. The second is that I am aware of one major concern about the approach to this amendment, which I'll discuss. And the third is that it's also important that Parliament pass a similar amendment to the State Immunity Act, in this bill or in a parallel piece of legislation, that would allow victims of the equally serious act of torture to pursue those who harm them.
First, with regard to the proposed amendment to the State Immunity Act for acts of terrorism, as I said, it's entirely appropriate to do this. The principle of state immunity generally prevents the courts of one nation from sitting in judgment of another country's official or sovereign actions. Today, however, most nations acknowledge that they should not be immune from everything, particularly when they are engaged in activities that are contrary to international law and therefore cannot be said to be within their sovereign powers.
Canada's State Immunity Act, passed in 1982, reflects this restrictive approach to immunity, as it sets out exceptions for which immunity will not be granted. For example, foreign states are not immune from civil liability for commercial activities, nor are they immune for any death, bodily injury, or property damage that occurs in Canada. These exceptions were included because the underlying activities are not deemed to be within the sovereign powers of the state.
My second point, having endorsed the idea of amending the State Immunity Act in this way, is that I am aware that both academics and lawyers who work in this area believe that it's not appropriate to have a list of foreign states that can be sued for terrorism that is established by the government. Rather, they believe it should be up to a court of law to determine when responsibility for terrorism should be assigned.
My third and final point is that it's absolutely essential that Parliament pass a parallel amendment to the State Immunity Act for torture, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide--