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Secrets And Lies? Swiss Banks And International Human Rights, Anita Ramasastry
Secrets And Lies? Swiss Banks And International Human Rights, Anita Ramasastry
Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
This Article explores the relationship of Swiss banks and their tradition of bank secrecy to the activities of a particular group of depositors: war criminals and other human rights violators. The Article focuses on litigation brought in U.S. courts by plaintiffs seeking access to Swiss bank deposits made by the Nazis and Ferdinand Marcos. The Article examines the possibility of holding banks accountable under international law for assisting a customer who has committed a serious breach of international law. Part I introduces the role of bank secrecy in the current litigation. Part II describes the Swiss tradition of bank secrecy. …