Barack Obama vetoed a bill that would have allowed families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia

US President Barack Obama on 23 September 2016 vetoed a bill that would have allowed the families of 9/11 victims to sue Saudi Arabia. Earlier, the Justice against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) was passed by both the chambers of the Republican controlled Congress.

As per President, the JASTA, would have jeopardized the long standing international principles regarding sovereignty and would have made adverse impact with US interests and nationals overseas.

In his message accompanying his veto, he said that the bill departs from longstanding standards and practice under US Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. It also threatens to strip all foreign governments of immunity from judicial process in the country based solely upon allegations by private litigants that a foreign government's overseas conduct had some role or connection to a group or person that carried out a terrorist attack inside the United States.

The US President said the bill would upset longstanding international principles regarding sovereign immunity, putting in place rules that, if applied globally, could have serious implications for the country's national interests and it can even complicate relations with its closest partners.

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