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Sokolow v. Palestine Liberation Organization

Sokolow v. Palestine Liberation Organization was a civil case considered by US federal courts, against the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority. The plaintiffs were US citizens injured in terrorist attacks in Israel and US citizens who are relatives of those who were killed by these attacks. They sued Palestine Liberation Organization and Palestinian Authority under the United States civil liability statute, also known as the Anti-Terrorism Act, demanding $1 billion or more in damages. On 31 August 2016, the Second US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that US federal courts lacked overseas jurisdiction on civil cases, and the 2nd Circuit decision was effectively upheld on appeal when the Supreme Court of the United States refused to hear an appeal of the Sokolow decision, sending the case back to the trial court for dismissal. However, in 2025 the Supreme Court ruled that the PLO and PA are subject to jurisdiction in Fuld v. PLO. On 31 March 2026, the United States Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit reinstated the $655.5 million judgment against the PLO.

History
The trial in the Manhattan federal district court began on January 12, 2015, presided over by US Federal District judge George B. Daniels, after Daniels ruled against the PLO and PA's request for summary judgement for lack of jurisdiction. ==Appeal and further proceeding==
Appeal and further proceeding
On 31 August 2016, the Second US Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan overturned the verdict of the Manhattan federal district court and dismissed the lawsuit on the grounds that US federal courts lacked overseas jurisdiction on civil cases. The appeals court's decision was criticized by the lawyers and families of the victims but was praised by lawyers and representatives of the Palestinian government. == The Sokolow Decision in scholarship==
The Sokolow Decision in scholarship
Michael Ratner has written that the US Court's ruling against the Palestinian Authority failed to treat Palestine as a state, immune, like Israel, from suits of this kind. He says that there is no jurisdiction over Palestine, that links between the murderers as the PNA unproven, that a fair jury was impossible to obtain in the U.S. and that the trial should not have taken place. It was, he added, both an obstacle to Palestinian victims seeking redress from Israel and a measure that held Palestinians to be collectively responsible for the acts of a few. ==See also==
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