The charters of many international organizations do just that…Notably, the IFC’s own charter does not state that the IFC is absolutely immune from suit (pp. Public international law recognises two distinct doctrines on sovereign immunity. If there was ever a time for IOs to ensure that they provide access to justice to claimants within the institutional order and avoid litigation in national courts, that time is now. Most recently, this involved setting up UN “human rights” offices on U.S. soil without even notifying the U.S. government, and without the approval of member states. At first instance it was held that the doctrine of restrictive immunity applied in Hong Kong, but that the transaction in question was not commercial in character. The District Court found that the IFC was absolutely immune under the US International Organisations Immunities Act 1945 (IOIA). To be considered “commercial,” an activity must be “the type” of activity “by which a private party engages in” trade or commerce……As the Government suggested at oral argument, the lending activity of at least some development banks, such as those that make conditional loans to governments, may not qualify as “commercial” under the FSIA (p. 18). In other words, if one government wrongs another, that government can retaliate in some way. Even the U.S. courts that dismissed the case recognized that, as did the IFC’s own compliance mechanism. The DRC’s agreement to submit its dispute to arbitration could not, therefore, amount to a waiver of its sovereign immunity before the Hong Kong courts. On 26 August 2011, the Standing Committee affirmed the HKCFA’s approach. According to the first, a foreign State is entitled to absolute immunity from local jurisdiction. But what about when UN staff members rape women and children? Alex Newman, a foreign correspondent for The New American, is based in Europe but has lived all over the world. At the first stage, the impleaded State must waive its jurisdictional immunity from suit. Thus, if the “gravamen” of a lawsuit is tortious activity abroad, the suit is not “based upon” commercial activity within the meaning of the FSIA’s commercial activity exception…At oral argument in this case, the Government stated that it has “serious doubts” whether petitioners’ suit, which largely concerns allegedly tortious conduct in India, would satisfy the “based upon” requirement. The dispute raised two issues to be determined by the courts of Hong Kong. At the Canadian International Council on... One of the most dangerous and pressing threats to American sovereignty is the proposed creation of the North American Union, a European Union-style... President Obama hosted Mexican President Felipe Calderón and Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper in Washington, D.C., this week for the so-called “North American Leaders... Canada’s dairy industry and stance on Chapter 19 dispute settlement system may be spoiling the milk for President Trump’s new NAFTA. Fourth, the HKCFA confirms, in line with established common law, that immunity from enforcement is not waived by State parties by signing an arbitration agreement. “Where is the accountability?” wondered Gallo. The idea being that IOs need immunities to avoid an intrusion into their independence by host governments/courts. After all, Tata has a combined market capitalization of around $150 billion. Despite the above remarks, treaty amendment is a difficult process. Following a newly released report from the U.K. Parliament on the enormity of the problem, the group said its original 60,000 estimate was actually way too low. “Therefore, the question whether they are absolutely immune from any kind of lawsuit — no matter how strictly commercial their activities; no matter how egregious their actions; and no matter the views of the Executive Branch — has great significance.” Indeed, the case could be significant in determining whether countless criminals, including child rapists hiding behind UN immunity, ever face justice. Swine Flu Sweeping Across Mexico into U.S. UN Attacks U.S. The HKCFA reversed the decision of the Court of Appeal. Follow him on Twitter @ALEXNEWMAN_JOU or on Facebook. The relevant common law rules required an “unequivocal submission” to the jurisdiction of the forum State at the time when jurisdiction was invoked. Second, one must not underestimate the difficulty in distinguishing between commercial and non-commercial. Roberts CJ dismissed the IFC’s concerns saying: The IFC’s concerns are inflated. Image: mizoula via iStock / Getty Images Plus. This conclusion was, however, adopted on a provisional basis; the HKCFA referred the issue to the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress. Sorry, the comment form is closed at this time. The core functions of these organizations are at least arguably “commercial” in nature; the organizations exist to promote international development by investing in foreign companies and projects across the world…The World Bank, for example, encourages development either by guaranteeing private loans or by providing financing from its own funds if private capital is not available (p. 29). Following a newly released report from the U.K. Parliament on the enormity of the problem, the group said its original 60,000 estimate was actually way too low. Indeed, the IFC argued that most of its work of entering into loan agreements with private corporations was likely commercial activity; and the very grant of immunities becomes meaningless if it can be sued in respect of claims arising out of its core lending activities (p. 15). Until the mid-Twentieth Century, (GORDON 1977) sovereign immunity from the jurisdiction of foreign courts was almost absolute. The former UN investigator, who has been traveling across America exposing UN corruption on a speaking tour, noted that diplomatic disagreements between governments are normally tempered with reciprocity. Personal Immunity . Personal immunity is a shield from prosecution that you get while you in a specific government position. The judgment has a number of implications and raises some complex issues. Despite knowing about the significant risk of “irreversible” damage to the local community and property in the area, the World Bank’s IFC provided almost half a billion dollars to a company owned by the enormous Indian conglomerate Tata Group. The judgment is a detailed and important statement of the doctrine of immunity followed in Hong Kong, as well as a significant case on the constitutional relationship between Hong Kong and the People’s Republic of China (“PRC”). The New American magazine, published twice a month in print and daily online, is the essential news source for freedom-loving Americans. 17-1011, will be heard in the next Supreme Court session beginning in October. Gallo suggested something very fishy was going on, saying the UN’s behavior appears to support the idea of a “subversive Deep State undermining the U.S. Government.”. Other provisions of the IOIA, such as the one making the property and assets of international organizations “immune from search,” use such noncomparative language to define immunities in a static way…Or the statute could have specified that it was incorporating the law of foreign sovereign immunity as it existed on a particular date…Because the IOIA does neither of those things, we think the “same as” formulation is best understood to make international organization immunity and foreign sovereign immunity continuously equivalent (pp. Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Accordingly, the doctrine of sovereign immunity adhered to in Hong Kong, as in the PRC as a whole, was found to be one of absolute immunity. “We are pleased the [U.S.] Government has weighed in against absolute immunity,” said attorney Rick Herz with the left-wing “EarthRights International,” which is helping represent the plaintiffs in the case. To begin, the privileges and immunities accorded by the IOIA are only default rules. Absolute immunity is a form of legal immunity which is unconditional in nature. The central issue in Jam concerned how the IOIA standard of immunity is to be interpreted. An agreement to arbitrate is not affected by a plea of sovereign immunity; indeed, the Court of Appeal determined that an agreement to arbitrate bars a plea of sovereign immunity in arbitral proceedings. The majority of the court adopted the reference canon of statutory interpretation in respect of the IOIA: ‘when a statute refers to a general subject, the statute adopts the law on that subject as it exists whenever a question under the statute arises’ (p. 12). Waiver of immunity from enforcement can take place in front of the relevant forum. In association with the International Commission of Jurists, [Rishi Gulati is a LSE Fellow in Law at the London School of Economics and a Barrister at the Victorian Bar.]. Both Canada’s and Mexico’s executive branches have formally begun the process of asking their country’s legislative bodies to ratify the USMCA. It found that there was no scope for Hong Kong to apply a doctrine of sovereign immunity at odds with the position followed by the PRC. ... A deadly strain of swine flu is sweeping across Mexico and has already spread to bordering states in America, as well.