District Court, S.D. New York January 7, 2000, 96 Civ. 5808 (LAK) (Dar El-Bina Engineering & Contracting Co. v. Republic of Iraq)

OPINION

KAPLAN, District Judge.

This action is brought by two Kuwaiti companies for nonpayment of promissory notes guaranteed by an Iraqi bank. The threshold issue facing the Court is whether

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the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act provides jurisdiction to adjudicate this action in a United States court, or whether the Iraqi bank is immune from suit by virtue of its status as an instrumentality