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American Legal Sovereignty Threatened by Greenpeace’s Retaliatory EU Lawsuit

American Legal Sovereignty Threatened by Greenpeace’s Retaliatory EU Lawsuit
Greenpeace protesters prepare to unfold a banner from atop a construction crane in Washington, on Jan. 25, 2017. Eva Hambach/AFP via Getty Images
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Commentary

The strength of the American civil legal system rests on a simple principle: those who break the law on U.S. soil answer to U.S. plaintiffs in U.S. courts. Our constitutional order depends on juries empowered to weigh evidence, judges and plaintiffs entrusted to enforce verdicts, and a system insulated from foreign interference. However, that foundation is now being tested by an activist organization determined to escape domestic accountability for domestic acts, by turning abroad and using a foreign country’s laws and courts to take another bite at the legal apple, so to speak.

John Swallow
John Swallow
Author
John Swallow is the former Attorney General of Utah