18 U.S.C. § 2332i — Acts of nuclear terrorism

Page 596 TITLE 18—CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE § 2332h (4) the offense is committed against any property that is owned, leased, or used by the United States or by any department or agency of the United States, whether the property is within or outside the United States; or (5) an offender aids or abets any person over whom jurisdiction exists under this subsection in committing an offense under this section or conspires with any person over whom jurisdic- tion exists under this subsection to commit an offense under this section. (c) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Any person who violates, or attempts or conspires to violate, subsection (a) shall be fined not more than $2,000,000 and shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment not less than 25 years or to imprisonment for life. (2) OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES.—Any person who, in the course of a violation of subsection (a), uses, attempts or conspires to use, or possesses and threatens to use, any item or items de- scribed in subsection (a), shall be fined not more than $2,000,000 and imprisoned for not less than 30 years or imprisoned for life. (3) SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES.—If the death of another results from a person’s violation of subsection (a), the person shall be fined not more than $2,000,000 and punished by imprison- ment for life. (d) DEFINITION.—As used in this section, the term ‘‘aircraft’’ has the definition set forth in section 40102(a)(6) of title 49, United States Code. (Added Pub. L. 108–458, title VI, § 6903, Dec. 17, 2004, 118 Stat. 3770.) § 2332h. Radiological dispersal devices (a) UNLAWFUL CONDUCT.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para- graph (2), it shall be unlawful for any person to knowingly produce, construct, otherwise acquire, transfer directly or indirectly, re- ceive, possess, import, export, or use, or pos- sess and threaten to use— (A) any weapon that is designed or in- tended to release radiation or radioactivity at a level dangerous to human life; or (B) any device or other object that is capa- ble of and designed or intended to endanger human life through the release of radiation or radioactivity. (2) EXCEPTION.—This subsection does not apply with respect to— (A) conduct by or under the authority of the United States or any department or agency thereof; or (B) conduct pursuant to the terms of a contract with the United States or any de- partment or agency thereof. (b) JURISDICTION.—Conduct prohibited by sub- section (a) is within the jurisdiction of the United States if— (1) the offense occurs in or affects interstate or foreign commerce; (2) the offense occurs outside of the United States and is committed by a national of the United States; (3) the offense is committed against a na- tional of the United States while the national is outside the United States; (4) the offense is committed against any property that is owned, leased, or used by the United States or by any department or agency of the United States, whether the property is within or outside the United States; or (5) an offender aids or abets any person over whom jurisdiction exists under this subsection in committing an offense under this section or conspires with any person over whom jurisdic- tion exists under this subsection to commit an offense under this section. (c) CRIMINAL PENALTIES.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Any person who violates, or attempts or conspires to violate, subsection (a) shall be fined not more than $2,000,000 and shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment not less than 25 years or to imprisonment for life. (2) OTHER CIRCUMSTANCES.—Any person who, in the course of a violation of subsection (a), uses, attempts or conspires to use, or possesses and threatens to use, any item or items de- scribed in subsection (a), shall be fined not more than $2,000,000 and imprisoned for not less than 30 years or imprisoned for life. (3) SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES.—If the death of another results from a person’s violation of subsection (a), the person shall be fined not more than $2,000,000 and punished by imprison- ment for life. (Added Pub. L. 108–458, title VI, § 6905, Dec. 17, 2004, 118 Stat. 3772.) § 2332i. Acts of nuclear terrorism (a) OFFENSES.— (1) IN GENERAL.—Whoever knowingly and un- lawfully— (A) possesses radioactive material or makes or possesses a device— (i) with the intent to cause death or seri- ous bodily injury; or (ii) with the intent to cause substantial damage to property or the environment; or (B) uses in any way radioactive material or a device, or uses or damages or interferes with the operation of a nuclear facility in a manner that causes the release of or in- creases the risk of the release of radioactive material, or causes radioactive contamina- tion or exposure to radiation— (i) with the intent to cause death or seri- ous bodily injury or with the knowledge that such act is likely to cause death or serious bodily injury; (ii) with the intent to cause substantial damage to property or the environment or with the knowledge that such act is likely to cause substantial damage to property or the environment; or (iii) with the intent to compel a person, an international organization or a country to do or refrain from doing an act, shall be punished as prescribed in subsection (c). (2) THREATS.—Whoever, under circumstances in which the threat may reasonably be be- lieved, threatens to commit an offense under paragraph (1) shall be punished as prescribed Page 597 TITLE 18—CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE § 2332i 1 See References in Text note below. in subsection (c). Whoever demands possession of or access to radioactive material, a device or a nuclear facility by threat or by use of force shall be punished as prescribed in sub- section (c). (3) ATTEMPTS AND CONSPIRACIES.—Whoever attempts to commit an offense under para- graph (1) or conspires to commit an offense under paragraph (1) or (2) shall be punished as prescribed in subsection (c). (b) JURISDICTION.—Conduct prohibited by sub- section (a) is within the jurisdiction of the United States if— (1) the prohibited conduct takes place in the United States or the special aircraft jurisdic- tion of the United States; (2) the prohibited conduct takes place out- side of the United States and— (A) is committed by a national of the United States, a United States corporation or legal entity or a stateless person whose habitual residence is in the United States; (B) is committed on board a vessel of the United States or a vessel subject to the ju- risdiction of the United States (as defined in section 70502 of title 46) or on board an air- craft that is registered under United States law, at the time the offense is committed; or (C) is committed in an attempt to compel the United States to do or abstain from doing any act, or constitutes a threat di- rected at the United States; (3) the prohibited conduct takes place out- side of the United States and a victim or an intended victim is a national of the United States or a United States corporation or legal entity, or the offense is committed against any state or government facility of the United States; or (4) a perpetrator of the prohibited conduct is found in the United States. (c) PENALTIES.—Whoever violates this section shall be fined not more than $2,000,000 and shall be imprisoned for any term of years or for life. (d) NONAPPLICABILITY.—This section does not apply to— (1) the activities of armed forces during an armed conflict, as those terms are understood under the law of war, which are governed by that law; or (2) activities undertaken by military forces of a state in the exercise of their official du- ties. (e) DEFINITIONS.—As used in this section, the term— (1) ‘‘armed conflict’’ has the meaning given that term in section 2332f(e)(11) of this title; (2) ‘‘device’’ means: (A) any nuclear explosive device; or (B) any radioactive material dispersal or radiation-emitting device that may, owing to its radiological properties, cause death, serious bodily injury or substantial damage to property or the environment; (3) ‘‘international organization’’ has the meaning given that term in section 831(f)(3) 1 of this title; (4) ‘‘military forces of a state’’ means the armed forces of a country that are organized, trained and equipped under its internal law for the primary purpose of national defense or se- curity and persons acting in support of those armed forces who are under their formal com- mand, control and responsibility; (5) ‘‘national of the United States’’ has the meaning given that term in section 101(a)(22) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(22)); (6) ‘‘nuclear facility’’ means: (A) any nuclear reactor, including reactors on vessels, vehicles, aircraft or space objects for use as an energy source in order to propel such vessels, vehicles, aircraft or space ob- jects or for any other purpose; (B) any plant or conveyance being used for the production, storage, processing or trans- port of radioactive material; or (C) a facility (including associated build- ings and equipment) in which nuclear mate- rial is produced, processed, used, handled, stored or disposed of, if damage to or inter- ference with such facility could lead to the release of significant amounts of radiation or radioactive material; (7) ‘‘nuclear material’’ has the meaning given that term in section 831(f)(1) 1 of this title; (8) ‘‘radioactive material’’ means nuclear material and other radioactive substances that contain nuclides that undergo sponta- neous disintegration (a process accompanied by emission of one or more types of ionizing radiation, such as alpha-, beta-, neutron par- ticles and gamma rays) and that may, owing to their radiological or fissile properties, cause death, serious bodily injury or substan- tial damage to property or to the environ- ment; (9) ‘‘serious bodily injury’’ has the meaning given that term in section 831(f)(4) 1 of this title; (10) ‘‘state’’ has the same meaning as that term has under international law, and includes all political subdivisions thereof; (11) ‘‘state or government facility’’ has the meaning given that term in section 2332f(e)(3) of this title; (12) ‘‘United States corporation or legal enti- ty’’ means any corporation or other entity or- ganized under the laws of the United States or any State, Commonwealth, territory, posses- sion or district of the United States; (13) ‘‘vessel’’ has the meaning given that term in section 1502(19) of title 33; 1 and (14) ‘‘vessel of the United States’’ has the meaning given that term in section 70502 of title 46. (Added Pub. L. 114–23, title VIII, § 811(a), June 2, 2015, 129 Stat. 309.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 831(f) of this title, referred to in subsec. (e)(3), (7), (9), was redesignated section 831(g) by Pub. L. 114–23, title VIII, § 812(d), June 2, 2015, 129 Stat. 312. Section 1502(19) of title 33, referred to in subsec. (e)(13), probably should be a reference to section 3(19) of Page 598 TITLE 18—CRIMES AND CRIMINAL PROCEDURE § 2333 the Deepwater Port Act of 1974, which is classified to section 1502(19) of Title 33, Navigation and Navigable Waters. § 2333. Civil remedies (a) ACTION AND JURISDICTION.—Any national of the United States injured in his or her person, property, or business by reason of an act of international terrorism, or his or her estate, survivors, or heirs, may sue therefor in any ap- propriate district court of the United States and shall recover threefold the damages he or she sustains and the cost of the suit, including at- torney’s fees. (b) ESTOPPEL UNDER UNITED STATES LAW.—A final judgment or decree rendered in favor of the United States in any criminal proceeding under section 1116, 1201, 1203, or 2332 of this title or sec- tion 46314, 46502, 46505, or 46506 of title 49 shall estop the defendant from denying the essential allegations of the criminal offense in any subse- quent civil proceeding under this section. (c) ESTOPPEL UNDER FOREIGN LAW.—A final judgment or decree rendered in favor of any for- eign state in any criminal proceeding shall, to the extent that such judgment or decree may be accorded full faith and credit under the law of the United States, estop the defendant from de- nying the essential allegations of the criminal offense in any subsequent civil proceeding under this section. (d) LIABILITY.— (1) DEFINITION.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘person’’ has the meaning given the term in section 1 of title 1. (2) LIABILITY.—In an action under subsection (a) for an injury arising from an act of inter- national terrorism committed, planned, or au- thorized by an organization that had been des- ignated as a foreign terrorist organization under section 219 of the Immigration and Na- tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1189), as of the date on which such act of international terrorism was committed, planned, or authorized, liability may be asserted as to any person who aids and abets, by knowingly providing substantial as- sistance, or who conspires with the person who committed such an act of international ter- rorism. (e) USE OF BLOCKED ASSETS TO SATISFY JUDG- MENTS OF U.S. NATIONALS.—For purposes of sec- tion 201 of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002 (28 U.S.C. 1610 note), in any action in which a national of the United States has obtained a judgment against a terrorist party pursuant to this section, the term ‘‘blocked asset’’ shall in- clude any asset of that terrorist party (including the blocked assets of any agency or instrumen- tality of that party) seized or frozen by the United States under section 805(b) of the For- eign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act (21 U.S.C. 1904(b)). (Added Pub. L. 102–572, title X, § 1003(a)(4), Oct. 29, 1992, 106 Stat. 4522; amended Pub. L. 103–429, § 2(1), Oct. 31, 1994, 108 Stat. 4377; Pub. L. 114–222, § 4(a), Sept. 28, 2016, 130 Stat. 854; Pub. L. 115–253, § 3(a), Oct. 3, 2018, 132 Stat. 3183.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT Section 201 of the Terrorism Risk Insurance Act of 2002, referred to in subsec. (e), is section 201 of Pub. L. 107–297, of which subsecs. (a), (b), and (d) are set out as a note under section 1610 of Title 28, Judiciary and Ju- dicial Procedure. For complete classification of section 201 to the Code, see Tables. AMENDMENTS 2018—Subsec. (e). Pub. L. 115–253 added subsec. (e). 2016—Subsec. (d). Pub. L. 114–222 added subsec. (d). 1994—Subsec. (b). Pub. L. 103–429 substituted ‘‘section 46314, 46502, 46505, or 46506 of title 49’’ for ‘‘section 902(i), (k), (l), (n), or (r) of the Federal Aviation Act of 1958 (49 U.S.C. App. 1472(i), (k), (l), (n), or (r))’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2018 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 115–253, § 3(b), Oct. 3, 2018, 132 Stat. 3184, pro- vided that: ‘‘The amendments made by this section [amending this section] shall apply to any judgment entered before, on, or after the date of enactment of this Act [Oct. 3, 2018].’’ EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2016 AMENDMENT Pub. L. 114–222, § 7, Sept. 28, 2016, 130 Stat. 855, pro- vided that: ‘‘The amendments made by this Act [enact- ing section 1605B of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, and amending this section and section 1605 of Title 28] shall apply to any civil action— ‘‘(1) pending on, or commenced on or after, the date of enactment of this Act [Sept. 28, 2016]; and ‘‘(2) arising out of an injury to a person, property, or business on or after September 11, 2001.’’ EFFECTIVE DATE Section applicable to any pending case or any cause of action arising on or after 4 years before Oct. 29, 1992, see section 1003(c) of Pub. L. 102–572, set out as a note under section 2331 of this title. SEVERABILITY Pub. L. 114–222, § 6, Sept. 28, 2016, 130 Stat. 855, pro- vided that: ‘‘If any provision of this Act [enacting sec- tion 1605B of Title 28, Judiciary and Judicial Procedure, amending this section and section 1605 of Title 28, and enacting provisions set out as notes under this section, section 1 of this title, and section 1605B of Title 28] or any amendment made by this Act, or the application of a provision or amendment to any person or cir- cumstance, is held to be invalid, the remainder of this Act and the amendments made by this Act, and the ap- plication of the provisions and amendments to any other person not similarly situated or to other cir- cumstances, shall not be affected by the holding.’’ PROMOTING SECURITY AND JUSTICE FOR VICTIMS OF TERRORISM Pub. L. 116–94, div. J, title IX, § 903, Dec. 20, 2019, 133 Stat. 3082, provided that: ‘‘(a) SHORT TITLE.—This section may be cited as the [‘]Promoting Security and Justice for Victims of Ter- rorism Act of 2019[’]. ‘‘(b) FACILITATION OF THE SETTLEMENT OF TERRORISM- RELATED CLAIMS OF NATIONALS OF THE UNITED STATES.— ‘‘(1) COMPREHENSIVE PROCESS TO FACILITATE THE RESOLUTION OF ANTI-TERRORISM ACT CLAIMS.—The Sec- retary of State, in consultation with the Attorney General, shall, not later than 30 days after the date of enactment of this Act [Dec. 20, 2019], develop and initiate a comprehensive process for the Department of State to facilitate the resolution and settlement of covered claims. ‘‘(2) ELEMENTS OF COMPREHENSIVE PROCESS.—The comprehensive process developed under paragraph (1) shall include, at a minimum, the following: