In 2012, Canada enshrined the terrorism exception to state immunity in the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act (JTVA), an amendment to the State Immunity Act (SIA) which enables private plaintiffs to bring civil cases against states deemed sponsors of terrorism. These are currently the Islamic Republic of Iran and the Syrian Arab Republic. On June 27, 2023, Iran sued Canada before the International Court of Justice (ICJ), alleging that this legislation violates customary international law. The normative implications of the court’s future ruling are not limited to Canada. Although the United States has not accepted the jurisdiction of the ICJ, Congress passed the Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act (JASTA) in 2016, which plaintiffs can utilize to bring claims against Iran, Syria, North Korea, and Cuba. Based on “the restrictive theory of state immunity,” precedent relative to the ICJ and various national courts, and international legal requirements including state practice and opinio juris, the terrorism exception to state immunity as presented in the JTVA seems to violate customary international law when terrorist activities are acta jure imperii.

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