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HIGH COURT REBUFFS ARMENIANS' GENOCIDE CASE
San Francisco Chronicle, CA
June 10 2013
by Bob Egelko
The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to revive a California law
that would allow heirs of victims of the nearly century-old Armenian
genocide to sue in state courts for unpaid insurance benefits.
The law, passed in 2000, was struck down in February 2012 by a
federal appeals court, which said California was intruding into
sensitive foreign policy questions that were the exclusive domain of
the federal government.
The law "was intended to send a political message on an issue of
foreign affairs" and "imposes the politically charged label of
'genocide,' " the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in an
11-0 ruling. The ruling dismissed a class-action suit filed in 2003
by several hundred Armenian Americans against a German insurance
company and two subsidiaries.
The high court denied review of the ruling without comment Monday.
The appeals court ruling was one of a series of decisions that have
barred California and other states from allowing victims of decades-old
foreign atrocities, like the Nazi Holocaust and the use of slave
labor by the Japanese military, to seek redress in their courts.
As many as 1.5 million Armenians were killed in the Ottoman Empire
between 1915 and 1923. Most historians consider it a genocide, but
the Turkish government protests use of the term and has urged U.S.
administrations to prevent any endorsement by Congress.
The California law would have allowed descendants of Armenians killed
or deported during that period, or of anyone who escaped to avoid
persecution, to sue insurers until the end of 2013, long after the
normal deadlines would have expired.
In urging the Supreme Court to take up the case, state Attorney General
Kamala Harris' office said the appeals court's ruling "allows judicial
censorship of state legislation because of the potential offense of
foreign officials."
The Obama administration endorsed the appellate ruling and asked the
Supreme Court to deny review. President Obama condemns the Armenian
killings in annual speeches but has refrained from describing them
as a genocide.
The case is Arzoumanian vs. Munchener Ruckversicherung, 12-9.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/High-court-rebuffs-Armenians-genocide-case-4592550.php
San Francisco Chronicle, CA
June 10 2013
by Bob Egelko
The U.S. Supreme Court refused Monday to revive a California law
that would allow heirs of victims of the nearly century-old Armenian
genocide to sue in state courts for unpaid insurance benefits.
The law, passed in 2000, was struck down in February 2012 by a
federal appeals court, which said California was intruding into
sensitive foreign policy questions that were the exclusive domain of
the federal government.
The law "was intended to send a political message on an issue of
foreign affairs" and "imposes the politically charged label of
'genocide,' " the Ninth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said in an
11-0 ruling. The ruling dismissed a class-action suit filed in 2003
by several hundred Armenian Americans against a German insurance
company and two subsidiaries.
The high court denied review of the ruling without comment Monday.
The appeals court ruling was one of a series of decisions that have
barred California and other states from allowing victims of decades-old
foreign atrocities, like the Nazi Holocaust and the use of slave
labor by the Japanese military, to seek redress in their courts.
As many as 1.5 million Armenians were killed in the Ottoman Empire
between 1915 and 1923. Most historians consider it a genocide, but
the Turkish government protests use of the term and has urged U.S.
administrations to prevent any endorsement by Congress.
The California law would have allowed descendants of Armenians killed
or deported during that period, or of anyone who escaped to avoid
persecution, to sue insurers until the end of 2013, long after the
normal deadlines would have expired.
In urging the Supreme Court to take up the case, state Attorney General
Kamala Harris' office said the appeals court's ruling "allows judicial
censorship of state legislation because of the potential offense of
foreign officials."
The Obama administration endorsed the appellate ruling and asked the
Supreme Court to deny review. President Obama condemns the Armenian
killings in annual speeches but has refrained from describing them
as a genocide.
The case is Arzoumanian vs. Munchener Ruckversicherung, 12-9.
http://www.sfgate.com/news/article/High-court-rebuffs-Armenians-genocide-case-4592550.php