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Ninth Circuit Strikes Down California Law Allowing ‘Armenian Genocid

NINTH CIRCUIT STRIKES DOWN CALIFORNIA LAW ALLOWING ‘ARMENIAN GENOCIDE’ VICTIMS TO SUE
Jaclyn Belczyk

JURIST
Friday, August 21, 2009

The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit [official website]
ruled [opinion, PDF] Thursday that a California state law that
allows descendants of victims of the Armenian Genocide [ANI
backgrounder] to sue in state courts for unpaid insurance benefits
is unconstitutional. The court found that California Civil Procedure
Code § 354.4 [text] "interferes with the national government’s conduct
of foreign relations" because the federal government has declined to
describe the World War I-era killings of over one million Armenians
by Turkish soldiers as genocide. The court concluded:

California Code of Civil Procedure § 354.4 is preempted because it
directly conflicts with the Executive Branch’s foreign policy refusing
to provide official recognition to the "Armenian Genocide." Far from
concerning an area of traditional state interest, § 354.4 impinges
upon the National Government’s ability to conduct foreign affairs.

The lawsuit was brought by a California citizen of Armenian descent
who initiated a class action suit against insurance companies, alleging
they had failed to pay benefits. The plaintiff’s lawyer said he plans
to appeal [San Francisco Chronicle report] the ruling.

In October 2007, the US House of Representatives delayed action [JURIST
report] on a resolution [H Res 106 materials] that would have labeled
the 1915-1918 killings as genocide, a decision that was welcomed
[JURIST report] by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan [BBC
profile]. The proposed legislation was approved by the House Foreign
Relations Committee and had been expected to reach the floor [JURIST
reports] before Congress recessed for the year. Then-Secretary of
State Condoleezza Rice had told Congress that the resolution could
"severely harm" US-Turkish relations [JURIST report]. Turkey has long
objected [JURIST comment] to any attempts to classify the 1915 Armenian
killings as genocide. Several other countries – including France,
Canada and Argentina – have nonetheless passed laws or resolutions
[BBC backgrounder] to that effect. The Obama administration’s position
on the matter has not been made clear.
From: Baghdasarian

Baghdasarian Karlen:
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