Cert. Grant: Samantar v. Yousuf

Today, the Supreme Court of the United States granted the petition for a writ of certiorari in Samantar v. Yousuf (No. 08-1555). The opinion below, the petition for certiorari, the brief in opposition, and the petitioner's reply are available here. The question before the Court will be: "Whether a foreign state’s immunity from suit under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), 28 U.S.C. § 1604, extends to an individual acting in his official capacity on behalf of a foreign state and whether an individual who is no longer an official of a foreign state at the time suit is filed retains immunity for acts taken in the individual’s former capacity as an official acting on behalf of a foreign state."