foreign sovereign immunity
40 Articles
Missouri’s Lawsuit Doesn’t Abrogate China’s Sovereign Immunity
U.S. courts do not have jurisdiction over private class action lawsuits brought against Chinese government defendants for their alleged misconduct in allowing the coronavirus to…
Head of State Immunity is Too Important for the International Court of Justice
If the United Nations General Assembly, or another competent U.N. organ, simply requests an advisory opinion from the International Court of Justice, then its member States would…
Time for a Cyber-Attack Exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act
Recently, a federal judge in New York dismissed the Democratic National Committee’s (DNC) civil lawsuit against Russia, Wikileaks, and others stemming from the 2016 cyber-attack…
World Court Rules on Iran Challenge to US Suits for Acts of Terrorism: An Explainer
Key takeaways from the International Court of Justice's judgment in the case of "Certain Iranian Assets": some of Iran's claims against the U.S. over billions of dollars in terrorism-related…
Jamal Khashoggi, the U.S. Supreme Court and the Limits of Inviolability
Jamal Khashoggi’s murder could complicate the Sudan v. Harrison case, which is set for oral argument before the Supreme Court on November 7.
Ukraine Update: the ICJ Proceedings & Options for Justice in the United States
With the Congressional hearings on Russia dominating the news, this post provides an update on proceedings before the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in the matter of Ukraine…
UK Supreme Court allows claims to proceed against UK officials for complicity in CIA torture
Earlier this month, the UK Supreme Court unanimously ruled that claims against UK officials for complicity in torture, unlawful detention and rendition are not barred by State…
The UK Supreme Court’s Landmark Judgment Belhaj v. Straw: A View From the United States
On Tuesday, the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom gave its judgment in Belhaj v. Straw and Rahmatullah v. Ministry of Defence, two human rights cases brought against UK officials…
Syria, J’Accuse! Syrian State Responsibility for War Crimes
So far, achieving any measure of accountability for the grave international crimes being committed in Syria has been elusive, as I’ve outlined before. A draft Security Council…
Judge Garland & The Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act
As promised, this post surveys several Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act (FSIA) opinions penned by Judge Garland while on the D.C. Circuit. Judge Garland has had occasion to consider…
Judge (Justice?) Merrick Garland & International Law
I recently had occasion to review the international law jurisprudence of Judge Merrick Garland as part of an evaluation prepared by the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee…
Supreme Court Denies Cert in Samantar v. Yousuf
On Monday, the US Supreme Court denied certiorari in Samantar v. Yousuf, ending an attempt by the former Prime Minister of Somalia to claim that the torture and extrajudicial killing…