Economic Sanctions

• Author: International Law Group

On January 16, 2001, shortly before leaving office, U.S. President Bill Clinton suspended for an additional six months the lawsuit provision in Title III of the Cuban Liberty and Democratic Solidarity (LIBERTAD) Act (Public Law No. 104-114). The President certified that a continued suspension is necessary to protect the national interest and to expedite the transition to democracy in Cuba.

Title III of the Act allows U.S. parties with claims to confiscated property in Cuba to file suits in U.S. courts. Though Title III entered into force on August 1, 1996, the President immediately suspended the law suit provision to permit a multilateral approach to promote democracy and human rights in Cuba. Each time the President continued the suspension of that provision, he referred to the international efforts and the pressure exerted by other countries on Cuba.

The ongoing suspension, from February 1, through July 31, 2001, will permit international efforts to continue. A Press Statement and accompanying Fact Sheet issued by the Department of State describe the various efforts and initiatives of the international community to promote democracy in Cuba. The Fact Sheet notes, for example, (1) that Canada would invite only "democracies" to the 2001 Summit of the Americas in Quebec City; (2) that friction developed at the Ibero-American Summit in Panama November 17-18, 2000, because...