Value Beyond Price: The Vindication Function of Transnational Litigation
Embedded in a recently decided Supreme Court case about Cuba and the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act—Exxon Mobil v. Cimex(opens in new tab)—was a debate about the basic purpose of suing foreign government entities. The Supreme Court majority rejected the view that such suits are fruitless unless the plaintiff is likely to be able to collect a monetary judgment promptly. The Court was right to reject that view. Judgments against foreign sovereign entities can make valuable statements about legally wrongful conduct even when monetary relief is elusive. A similar dynamic applied to Alien Tort Statute cases; and the demise of such suits, due to a case(opens in new tab) the Court decided the same day as Exxon, means the loss of their vindicatory function.