The Supreme Court on Thursday announced it will hear cases brought against two foreign countries stemming from claims that date back to Nazi-era Germany and World War II, reports The Wall Street Journal.
Foreign countries cannot be sued in U.S. courts, but there are several narrow exceptions to the rule as outlined in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.
In Germany v. Philipp, the justices will weigh in on whether Jewish art dealers who lived in Germany in the 1930s can sue over medieval artwork that the Nazi government pressured them to sell.
The FSIA Act states that foreign countries are not immune to litigation if “property is taken in violation of international law,” which the plaintiffs are claiming happened as they argued that the sale of the relics was part of the Nazi genocide.
The court also agreed to hear Hungary’s bid to avoid litigation lodged by Jewish survivors of the Hungarian Holocaust in Hungary v. Simon.
Plaintiffs in the case claim Hungary worked with Nazis to exterminate Hungarian Jews and seize their property while state-owned railway MAV aided in the effort.
The Supreme Court also agreed to hear Cargill Inc.v. Doe and Nestlé USA v. Doe.
Both Cargill Inc. and Nestle USA have been sued in federal court by former child slaves from Mali who allege that they were forced to work on farms in Cote d’Ivoire in violation of international law.
Solange Reyner is a writer and editor for Newsmax. She has more than 15 years in the journalism industry reporting and covering news, sports and politics.
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