Tehran, Iran, July 5
By Mehdi Sepahvand - Trend:
Bahram Qassemi, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman has criticized a Canadian court’s upholding of an in absentia US court rulings against the Islamic Republic, stressing that the move runs counter to the international judicial norms.
“Principally, the issuance of a ruling against a foreign country runs counter to the principle of equality of states and is in violation of their immunity under international law,” Qassemi said, the Foreign Ministry’s website reported July 5.
The Islamic Republic of Iran reserves the right to oppose and follow up on the ruling, the diplomat said.
A Canadian court on July 3 accused Iran of supporting terrorism, upholding a previous ruling by a US court, which required the Islamic Republic to pay around $1.7 billion in damages to what the case had called “American victims of terrorism.”
The Iranian spokesperson emphasized that irrespective of internal power divisions in Canada, the country’s administration would be directly liable for any possible material and spiritual damage caused by various branches of the Canadian government as a result of such measures.
The Court of Appeal for Ontario rejected Iran’s request to reconsider the ruling, arguing that doing so would amount to a breach of Canada’s Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act (JVTA).
The JVTA allows so-called victims of terrorism to sue foreign states for damages.
Iran raps Canada over court ruling
Bahram Qassemi, the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman has criticized a Canadian court’s upholding of an in absentia US court rulings against the Islamic Republic, stressing that the move runs counter to the international judicial norms.
