FM Çavuşoğlu visits US as ties remain crucial
Daily SabahJan 17, 2023
The US Supreme Court on Tuesday began hearing arguments over Turkish state-owned Halkbank's bid to avoid criminal charges in the US for allegedly helping Iran evade economic sanctions. This comes after lower courts ruled in favor of the US government, allowing the prosecution to proceed.
At issue in Türkiye Halk Bankasi v. United States is whether a foreign company can be held accountable under US law if it is owned by a foreign government; foreign countries enjoy sovereign immunity and cannot face criminal charges in the US.
The US Supreme Court must drop this unlawful and unprecedented prosecution against Halkbank as the standing of this lower court's ruling would threaten future indictments of any sovereign state. By doing so, it would also help the smoothing out of critical relations between Ankara and Washington.
Halkbank may argue that it is entitled to sovereign immunity, but this notion rests on a false premise that the bank and the Turkish government are the same. Established international law and practice are unequivocal that despite being a publicly owned corporation, the bank is not a sovereign entity. This is about conforming to well-established international norms.