U.S. Supreme Court Rejects Seizure of Iranian Antiquities at Chicago Museum

On Wednesday, February 21, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that Americans injured in a 1997 bombing in Jerusalem, who claim Iran was involved in the attack, cannot seize ancient Iranian artifacts from the University of Chicago museum to satisfy their $71.5 million damages claim. Eight members of the Supreme Court upheld a lower court's ruling in favor of Iran, which stated that the plaintiffs in this case could not seize antiquities at the University of Chicago's Oriental Institute. Some of these artifacts, loaned to the museum by Iran since the 1930s, include clay tablets containing the world's oldest writings. One Supreme Court member did not participate in the vote. This decision will make it more difficult to secure compensation for violent attacks by extremists abroad through the seizure of antiquities and cultural properties belonging to foreign nations. In this specific case, the Supreme Court had to decide on foreign assets that are exempt from seizure under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act. According to this federal law, most foreign countries have immunity in U.S. courts, but this law does not apply to Iran, as the U.S. has designated it as a state sponsor of terrorism. Iran is one of the countries that U.S. courts have ordered to pay damages, but enforcing such judgments is very difficult. This particular lawsuit relates to a 1997 attack in which members of Hamas killed five people in a suicide bombing in a crowded area of Jerusalem. Several American victims of this bombing sued in federal courts, claiming that Iran provided the necessary equipment for the attackers. A U.S. court accepted this lawsuit and awarded the victims $71.5 million in damages. Iran has refused to pay this amount, prompting the plaintiffs to target ancient Iranian artifacts at the University of Chicago museum, including the Persepolis collection and thousands of clay tablets loaned from Iran since 1937. The Chicago District Court of Appeals prohibited the transfer of ownership of these artifacts to the plaintiffs in 2016. The court stated that only properties and assets used by foreign governments can be seized, not those held by a third party, such as the University of Chicago. The court also noted that changes in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act in 2008 do not mean that victims of terrorist attacks can claim their damages under any circumstances, regardless of commercial activities and other exceptions. The Trump administration supported the positions of both the Iranian government and the University of Chicago in this matter, stating in a legal brief that 'the seizure of foreign property in the U.S. can have significant foreign policy consequences, including jeopardizing U.S. assets abroad.' Wednesday's ruling by the Supreme Court is likely to impact the outcome of another pending case. In that case, four different groups representing victims of a violent attack claim that the attack was supported by the Iranian government and are attempting to seize the assets of the National Bank of Iran in the U.S. to collect a $17.6 million judgment awarded to them by the court.