Iran files case against Canada at World Court over civil damages claims

THE HAGUE (Reuters) - Iran has filed a case at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against Canada because Ottawa allows civil damages cases against Tehran for alleged terrorist acts to be filed in its courts, the U.N.'s top court said on Wednesday.

According to Iran's claim, released by the court, Canada's actions violate its state immunity enshrined in international law.

The move at the ICJ, also known as the World Court, comes a little over a week after the Canadian government announced it imposed sanctions on Iranian judges over alleged human rights abuses on top of longer-standing sanctions targeting Tehran.

Canada cut diplomatic ties with Iran in 2012 and listed the country as a supporter of terrorism.

Last year an Ontario court awarded C$107 million ($83.94 million), plus interest, to the families of six people who died when the Iranian Revolutionary Guards downed a Ukraine International Airlines plane near Tehran in 2020, killing all 176 people onboard.

(Reporting by Stephanie van den Berg; Editing by Cynthia Osterman)