Immunity
154 Articles
Immunity Doctrines: The Need for a Systemic Approach
It was a pleasure this week to speak on a panel entitled “Chaos & Immunity: Core Crimes & Sitting Heads of States” at the American Branch of the International Law Association’s…
Samantar v. Yousuf: What Happens Next?
As Beth Van Schaack reported last week, the Supreme Court has called for the views of the Solicitor General in Samantar v. Yousuf, a case raising questions about the immunity of…
The Third Time’s The Charm? SCOTUS CVSGs in Samantar
Amidst all the recent activity (and non-activity) at the Supreme Court this term, it might have been missed that the Court invited the Solicitor General to express the views of…
Supreme Court of Canada Rules Individuals cannot sue a Foreign State in Canada for Torture Committed Abroad
On Friday, the Supreme Court of Canada (SCC) affirmed that individuals cannot bring civil actions in Canada against a foreign state, which includes foreign officials, for acts…
Rosenberg vs. Pasha: Distinguishing Two Questions of Foreign Official Immunity
Last week, I responded to my friend John Bellinger’s comments about the district court’s ruling on foreign official immunity in the Singh case. John has a new post at Lawfare…
Official Act Immunity and the Singh Case
At Lawfare, John Bellinger has commented on Judge Boasberg’s August 19 ruling that former Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh is immune from suit for human rights abuses in…
Immunity Before the African Court of Justice & Human & Peoples Rights—The Potential Outlier
As is clear from our prior coverage of the issue, the availability of jurisdictional or defensive immunities is ever-present in discussions of how to ensure accountability for…
Immunities and Criminal Prosecution within the United States & Beyond
The African Union’s controversial effort to grant sitting heads-of-state and “other senior state officials” immunity before the proposed new African criminal chambers (see…
Fifth Circuit on Extraterritorial Application of Fourth and Fifth Amendments
On the heels of this morning’s Fourth Circuit decision in the Abu Ghraib case comes another significant circuit-level decision–this one from the Fifth Circuit. The…
Considering Jones v. UK Requires Reflection Not Knee-Jerk Reactions
Jones v. United Kingdom was handed down by the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) on Tuesday. It has already elicited a considerable amount of adverse commentary (here and…