Canadian court to Iran: Pay hostages’ legal bill

In a blow to Iran’s diplomatic immunity, Ontario’s Court of Appeal has ordered the country to pay court costs to Americans once held hostage by Iranian-backed terrorists, despite Tehran’s claim that it is unaccountable to Canadian courts.

The highly unusual order comes as claims against Iran for supporting international terrorism mount in Canadian courts. The cases are being brought by foreign terror victims seeking compensation through Iran’s assets in Canada.

This strange case produced a fittingly strange outcome: two levels of Canadian courts accepted that, under the laws at the time of the kidnapping, Iran was exempt from being sued, but the court nevertheless ordered the Islamic regime to pay $70,000 in legal fees to the plaintiffs.

Further, Canada’s Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act, which became law last March, has now changed the legal landscape: the kidnapping victims have filed a fresh claim in Toronto under the new law looking to settle outstanding U.S. court judgments of almost US$350-million against Iran.

Iran has not filed a defence against the new claim.

The roots of the case are found in the anguish of the Lebanon hostage crisis of the 1980s, when Hezbollah terrorists, acting for Tehran, abducted 96 people in Lebanon, mostly Westerners, and held them hostage in Beirut.

http://news.nationalpost.com/2013/01/22/canadian-court-to-iran-pay-hostages-legal-bill