TURKIYE HALK BANKASI A.S. V. UNITED STATES

The Court held that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) does not apply to criminal cases. Halkbank, a Turkish state-owned bank, was indicted for violating U.S. sanctions against Iran. The Second Circuit held that the FSIA does not apply to criminal cases and, in the alternative, that the case would fall within the FSIA's commercial activities exception. The Supreme Court reversed and remanded for consideration of common law immunities.

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Washington Foreign Law Society Podcast, "Does the FSIA Bar Prosecution in U.S. Courts of Commercial Enterprises Owned by Foreign States?" (with Ingrid Brunk, Chimène Keitner, David Stewart, & Mark Feldman)

Curt Bradley & Jack Goldsmith, The FSIA and Criminal Prosecutions (Lawfare)