Customary international law provides immunity to states from the jurisdiction of foreign national courts. The immunity extends to state agencies and to state-owned property, protecting them from adjudicatory jurisdiction and from enforcement measures. Foreign sovereign immunity has important exceptions, including for waiver, for some conduct or property related to commercial activity, and for some torts committed on the territory of the forum state. In the United States, all aspects of foreign sovereign immunity for cases in state or federal court are governed by a federal statute, the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act.
A Primer on Foreign Sovereign Immunity
The immunity of states from the jurisdiction of foreign domestic courts is a long-standing and mostly uncontroversial principle of customary international law. The International Court of Justice has described foreign sovereign immunity as a procedural doctrine of international law, one that “derives from the principle of sovereign equality of the States.” As a practical matter,…
Continue ReadingThe Post-Award Battlefield: What Stabil Means for Wartime Investment Awards
The next phase of Ukraine-related investment law will not unfold primarily before arbitral tribunals. It will unfold in domestic courts asked to convert wartime arbitral awards into recoverable money. The D.C. Circuit’s decision in Stabil LLC v. Russian Federation, affirming jurisdiction to enforce Crimea-related awards against Russia, shows both how far award creditors have come…
Continue ReadingStrange Statutory Interpretation in Foreign Relations Law: The October 2025 Term
The back end of the Supreme Court’s October Term 2025 brought us three decisions in statutory cases dealing with foreign relations law. Havana Docks Corp. v. Royal Caribbean Cruises, Ltd. explored the scope of the Helms Burton Act, a sanctions statute targeting Cuba. Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Corporación Cimex, S.A. (Cuba) held that this statute…
Continue ReadingSupreme Court Says Helms-Burton Abrogates Foreign Sovereign Immunity
In Exxon Mobil Corp v. Corporación CIMEX, S.A. (Cuba), the Supreme Court held that the Helms-Burton Act abrogated the sovereign immunity of Cuban agencies and instrumentalities for suits brought under the Act. Plaintiffs may therefore pursue such suits whether or not they can satisfy one of the exceptions to immunity in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities…
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