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1 1 (May 18, 2023)

handle is hein.crs/govelra0001 and id is 1 raw text is: Congressional_______ ah esearch Service The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act: Prosecuting Foreign States After the Supreme Court's Decision in Halkbank May 18, 2023 The Supreme Court's decision in Turkiye Halk Bankasi A. S v United States, holding that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) does not provide foreign states immunity from criminal prosecution, cleared some obstacles to the United States' effort to prosecute a bank owned by Turkey (Turkiye) but left open other questions about the viability of prosecuting foreign-state-owned entities. The United States indicted Turkiye Halk Bankasi (Halkbank) in 2019 on charges related to alleged sanctions evasion, money laundering, and bank fraud. Halkbank, which denies the allegations, argued that the FSIA provided complete immunity from prosecution because the bank is an instrument of a foreign state. In an April 2023 opinion, the Supreme Court held that the FSIA grants immunity only in civil actions and not in criminal prosecutions and left open the possibility that common law immunity may apply. Lower courts must now grapple with how to determine when common law immunity is available-although Congress could influence this issue through legislation that defines foreign sovereign immunity standards in criminal cases. Background Background on the Halkbank case, its procedural history, and the FSIA are provided in this Legal Sidebar. Before the Supreme Court, Halkbank asserted several legal theories as to why the Court should dismiss the case: No federal criminal statute gives federal courts jurisdiction over foreign-state-owned entities, the FSIA grants absolute immunity from criminal prosecutions, and, even if the FSIA does not apply, the common law supplies immunity from prosecution. The Court's Three-Part Decision In an opinion written by Justice Kavanaugh, the Supreme Court rejected Halkbank's first two arguments but remanded proceedings for the lower court to evaluate the bank's argument that common law immunity prevents criminal prosecution. Congressional Research Service https://crsreports.congress.gov LSB10967 CRS Legal Sidebar Prepared for Members and Committees of Congress

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