Russian Federation’s Sovereign Immunity Withstands Challenge

Russian Federation’s Sovereign Immunity Withstands Challenge in Chabad v. Russian Federation Before the U.S. Supreme Court Concluding Long-Running U.S. Proceedings

Marks & Sokolov, counsel for the Russian Federation and related government entities in Agudas Chasidei Chabad v. Russian Federation, is pleased to announce that the U.S. Supreme Court declined to review the DC Appellate Court’s 2024 opinion, which recognized the Russian Federation’s sovereign immunity, with instructions to vacate over $175 million in fines and dismiss the claims against it.

According to Marks & Sokolov managing director Bruce Marks, “We are pleased with the Supreme Court’s decision. This is a clear victory for the Russian Federation, ending decades-long attempts to use U.S. courts to assert jurisdiction over cultural property located in Russia, an affront to its sovereign immunity.”

Chabad’s claimed ownership of a library maintained by Rebbes in Lubavich, near Smolensk, in the Russian Empire. It became the property of the USSR’s State Library following the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution. The library is considered a historic treasure and housed in the Jewish Museum in Moscow, open to the public. In addition, Chabad claimed ownership of archives of a Rebbe that were recovered by the Soviet Army from the Gestapo at the end of World War II. These archives are maintained in the Russian Military Archives in Moscow, also open to all.

After years of litigation, in 2024, the D.C. Appeals Circuit correctly held that U.S. courts lack jurisdiction under the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act over the Russian Federation when the disputed property is located in Russia. Previously, the lower U.S. court imposed over $175 million in fines against Russia and related government entities for refusing to transfer the library and archives to Chabad.

The U.S. Supreme Court effectively ended the dispute by allowing the D.C. Circuit’s interpretation of the FSIA, which vacated more than $175 million in sanctions, and ordered the case against Russia dismissed. According to Marks, “The Russian Federation’s related entities, such as the Russian State Library and Russian Military Archives, can seek to have the sanctions and claims against them dismissed, as well.”