Supreme Court hears challenge to statute deeming PLO and Palestinian Authority subject to U.S. courts

The Supreme Court heard argument in FOLD v. Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority over a federal statute that deems the PLO and the PA to have submitted to U.S. court jurisdiction when they make certain payments to persons who injured or killed Americans or engage in specified activities in the United States.

The question before the justices is whether that statute—challenged as an exercise of personal jurisdiction—violates the Due Process Clause, and if so whether the governing test is the Fourteenth Amendment minimum‑contacts framework or a different Fifth Amendment standard tied to federal interests and “fairness.” The case implicates victims’ ability to obtain compensation, Congress’s power over foreign‑affairs and national‑security policy, and the reach of U.S. courts over foreign non‑sovereign entities.

Petitioners’ counsel argued the statute satisfies due process because it gives fair notice and is tied to legitimate federal interests. “The statute gave the defendants fair warning,” counsel said, contending that Congress may define the jurisdictional contacts relevant to federal courts and that the Fifth Amendment requires a fairness or non‑arbitrariness check that, here, is met.

Counsel for the United States told the Court the statute is “an integral component of the foreign policy and national security policy of the political branches,” and that Congress permissibly deemed the PLO and PA to…