# Can a US religious organization be sued by a foreign government? (John Allen Chau/ Sentinel Islers) **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [November 22, 2018, 1:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-us-religious-organization-be-sued-by-a-foreign-government-john-allen-chau-sentinel-islers/824942 "2018-11-22T13:43:01Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Arcite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/67e7ee/32.png) [@Arcite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arcite)\ **Post date:** [November 23, 2018, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-us-religious-organization-be-sued-by-a-foreign-government-john-allen-chau-sentinel-islers/824942/21 "2018-11-23T23:34:58Z")
> [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](#): > > Heck with lawsuits, Chau was committing a felony in attempting to land there. His murder as a direct result of his commission of a felony means he was guilty of felony murder. > > Anyone conspiring with him to commit his crime of landing should be held criminally liable for conspiracy to commit felony murder. He was guilty of feloniously murdering himself? ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2018, 12:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-us-religious-organization-be-sued-by-a-foreign-government-john-allen-chau-sentinel-islers/824942/22 "2018-11-24T00:10:33Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > From a quick non-technically competent surf through the internet India appears to have a legislative provision for [anti-conversion laws](https://www.loc.gov/law/help/anti-conversion-laws/india.php), which have in the past been used to target christian minorities because they were suspected of proselytising. > > As the Andamans are part of a federal territory I’m not sure how that applies as they are discretionary for states to implement, but I’m sure there is some book on the Indian government’s shelf that can be thrown far and hard at the Christian organisation. From a quick skim of your cite, the statutes in question are penal in nature. It’s a general principle that courts in one country won’t enforce another country’s criminal law. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2018, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-us-religious-organization-be-sued-by-a-foreign-government-john-allen-chau-sentinel-islers/824942/23 "2018-11-24T00:59:26Z")
> [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](#): > > Heck with lawsuits, Chau was committing a felony in attempting to land there. His murder as a direct result of his commission of a felony means he was guilty of felony murder. > > Anyone conspiring with him to commit his crime of landing should be held criminally liable for conspiracy to commit felony murder. That assumes India has felony murder statutes. I don’t know if they do, but my general impression is that the US is an outlier in the common law world with felony murder statutes. ---
**Author:** ![md2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/73ab20/32.png) [@md2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/md2000)\ **Post date:** [November 24, 2018, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-us-religious-organization-be-sued-by-a-foreign-government-john-allen-chau-sentinel-islers/824942/24 "2018-11-24T14:58:29Z")
> [@Arcite](#): > > He was guilty of feloniously murdering himself? He died in the commission of a crime. That makes any participants guilty as accessories, I assume. The seven locals who took him to the island have apparently been arrested, not clear if they have been charged and with what, but I think one report said they could be charged with the murder. ---
**Author:** ![Hector\_St\_Clare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b5ac83/32.png) [@Hector\_St\_Clare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hector_St_Clare)\ **Post date:** [November 25, 2018, 4:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-us-religious-organization-be-sued-by-a-foreign-government-john-allen-chau-sentinel-islers/824942/25 "2018-11-25T04:24:02Z")
> [@Some\_Call\_Me.Tim](#): > > Heck with lawsuits, Chau was committing a felony in attempting to land there. His murder as a direct result of his commission of a felony means he was guilty of felony murder. > > Anyone conspiring with him to commit his crime of landing should be held criminally liable for conspiracy to commit felony murder. India abolished the offence of felony murder a long time ago. ---
**Author:** ![Schnitte](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/schnitte/32/9033_2.png) [@Schnitte](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Schnitte)\ **Post date:** [November 26, 2018, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-us-religious-organization-be-sued-by-a-foreign-government-john-allen-chau-sentinel-islers/824942/26 "2018-11-26T19:31:10Z")
It’s one thing whether a foreign government can sue an American religious organisation in court, in the sense that such an action would be admissible. The answer to that question is yes, both before its own courts (which would depend, of course, on the national law in question, but from a comparative law perspective I’d say that most jurisdictions would consider themselves to have jurisdiction over such a case) and before American courts. Religious organisations don’t have the sovereign immunity from foreign jurisdictions that states have. Another question is whether, in Chau’s case, such an action would be founded as to its merits. That would depend on the kind of involvement of the religious organisation in Chau’s actions. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/can-a-us-religious-organization-be-sued-by-a-foreign-government-john-allen-chau-sentinel-islers/824942.md?page=1)