BREYER, J., dissenting
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Arafat
Syria
Rabin
Shimon Peres
Assad
World Bank
Golan Heights
Bush Administration
INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORP
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14 JAM v. INTERNATIONAL FINANCE CORP.
BREYER, J., dissenting
See H.R. Rep. No. 1208, at 1. That multilateralism is
threatened if one nation alone, through application of its
own liability rules (by nonexpert judges), can shape the
policy choices or actions that an international organization
believes it must take or refrain from taking. Yet that is
the effect. of the majority’s interpretation. By restricting
the immunity that international organizations enjoy, it
“opens the door to divided decisions of the courts of differ-
ent member states,” including U. 8. courts, “passing judg-
ment on the rules, regulations, and decisions of the inter-
national bodies.” Broadbent v. Organization of Am. States,
628 F. 2d 27, 35 (CADC 1980); cf. Singer, Jurisdictional
Immunity of International Organizations: Human Rights
and Functional Necessity Concerns, 36 Va. J. Intl L. 58,
63-64 (1995) (recognizing that “[i]t would be inappropriate
for municipal courts to cut deep into the region of autono-
mous decision-making authority of institutions such as the
World Bank”).
Many international organizations, fully aware of their
moral (if not legal) obligations to prevent harm to others
and to compensate individuals when they do cause harm,
have sought to fulfill those obligations without compromis-
ing their ability to operate effectively. Some, as I have
said, waive their immunity in U.S. courts at least in part.
And the D. C. Circuit, for nearly 40 years, has interpreted
those waivers in a way that protects the organization
against interference by any single state. See, e.g.,
Mendaro, 717 F. 2d, at 615. The D.C. Circuit allows a
lawsuit to proceed when “insistence on immunity would
actually prevent or hinder the organization from conduct-
ing its activities.” J/d., at 617. Thus, a direct beneficiary of
a World Bank loan can generally sue the Bank, because
“the commercial reliability of the Bank’s direct loans ...
would be significantly vitiated” if “beneficiaries were
required to accept the Bank’s obligations without recourse
to judicial process.” Id., at 618. Where, however, allowing
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