Kelly Adams
Herbert Smith Freehills LLP

Kelly Adams is an associate in the Disputes group at Herbert Smith Freehills LLP. Her practice focuses on U.S. sanctions regulations, international litigation and arbitration, and public international law. She obtained her B.A. from the University of Minnesota and her M.P.S. in Intelligence from Georgetown University. She earned her J.D. from Washington University in Saint Louis, where she served as the Editor-in-Chief of the Washington University Global Studies Law Review and placed as a national semi-finalist as a member of the Jessup Moot Court team.
Governmental and Non-Governmental Acts in Terrorism Exceptions to Sovereign Immunity
The Islamic Republic of Iran (“Iran”) brought proceedings in the International Court of Justice (“ICJ”) against Canada on June 27, 2023, alleging that Section 6.1(1) of Canada’s State Immunity Act (SIA), its “terrorism exception,” violates Iran’s sovereign immunities from jurisdiction and enforcement under customary international law. Section 6.1(1) creates an exception to the jurisdictional immunity…
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