Radio France International reported (April 5), based on multiple sources, that the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) in India and the All India Bar Association (AIBA) have filed a complaint in the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) seeking $20 trillion as reparations from China over the global spread of the coronavirus. The petition was based on China’s legal liability on committing “grave offences against humanity” under the “Responsibility of States for Internationally Wrongful Acts, 2001.” ICJ President Dr. Aggarwala has urged the UNHRC to investigate and direct the government of the People’s Republic of China to “adequately compensate the international community and member-states, particularly India, for surreptitiously developing a biological weapon capable of the mass destruction of mankind throughout the world and also for serious physical, psychological, economic and social harm caused to these states due to the inaction and negligence to respect its international obligations.” As per the filed petition, the COVID-19 pandemic was a “conspiracy of Chinese government aimed at catapulting itself to the position of a superpower in the World and undermining other countries through (the use of) biological warfare.”

(Comment:  Earlier on March 12, the Berman Law Group, a law firm in Boca Raton, Florida, filed a class-action lawsuit on March 12, to hold the Chinese government accountable for the deadly coronavirus now sweeping America. The lawsuit, which names five plaintiffs from Florida, seeks class-action status for any American injured or affected by the coronavirus. None of the plaintiffs have been diagnosed with COVID-19, the law firm said. The suit alleges that the Chinese government “knew that COVID-19 was dangerous and capable of causing a pandemic, yet officials acted slowly, proverbially put their heads in the sand, and/or covered it up for their own economic self-interest.” Jeremy Alters, chief strategist at Berman Law Group and father of plaintiff Logan Alters said “No nation, particularly a rich world superpower like China, should be able to get away with what it has done. It suppressed information from the global medical community that could have averted or minimised the damage that has been done.” Among other claims, the suit is alleging negligence on the part of the Chinese government and is requesting a jury trial. A Consultant with the Berman Group told reporters that while the Chinese government could ignore the suit, there are economic ways to ensure the Chinese government comply with the court process, including targeting various bank accounts and relying on treaties between the U.S. and China.)