Elsewhere in the region, immunity from execution will generally apply. In conclusion, given the sorry state of the Nigerian economy, no thanks to long and unbroken years of large-scale mismanagement, corruption and shameless theft, Nigeria had no chance or choice than to agree with the Chinese that the controversial waiver of immunity clause be included in the contract. Introduction So much frenzy and hysteria has gripped the intellectual and political space of Nigeria, and possibly beyond, […] The US version of this Act is the Foreign Immunities Act of 1976; and section 1605 is similar to the above section. There is no concept of state immunity under UAE law per se and federal law does not grant state entities immunity from suit. Entering into a contract with an entity owned or controlled by the state poses unique challenges not faced when dealing with a private commercial counterparty. Non-Waiver of Sovereign Immunity Clauseby Practical Law Government Practice Related Content Maintained • USA (National/Federal)A Standard Clause providing for the preservation of a state or local government's sovereign immunity, including any statutory rights to limitations of liability or caps on damages for tort claims. For instance, section 13(2) of the Sovereign (or State) Immunity Act, 1978 of the UK, forbids any relief “by way of injunction or order or for specific performance or for the recovery of land or other property.” It further provides that “the property of a State shall not be subject to any process for the enforcement of a judgment or arbitration award or, in an action in rem, for its arrest, detention or sale.” And to agree with the historical cum judicial development of the concept, subsection (3) of that section provides the following exception: ‘’(3) Subsection (2) above does not prevent the giving of any relief or the issue of any process with the written consent of the state concerned; and any such consent (which may be contained in a prior agreement) may be expressed so as to apply to a limited extent or generally; but a provision merely submitting to the jurisdiction of the courts is not to be regarded as a consent for the purpose of this subsection’’. This is worth noting given that the Inter Arab Convention on Judicial Co-Operation (the Riyadh Convention), the most commonly used treaty in the Middle East for the recognition and enforcement of both court judgments and arbitral awards between Arab nations, and the Agreement on the Execution of Rulings, Requests of Legal Assistance and Judicial Notices (the GCC Convention) do not apply to awards against a government. Failure to consider such risks when negotiating a contract may have considerable consequences in practical terms. The definition of “investor” is very broad and does not provide for specific requirements as to the nationality of the legal entity. Similarly, government entities in Qatar can only agree to arbitrate with permission from the Prime Minister, whilst in Iraq approval must be obtained from a special committee at the Secretariat of the Council of Ministers. It is particularly important for parties to consider these implications when conducting business in the Middle East given that: i. state entities play a major role in the procurement of major projects, particularly in GCC countries; and. Can the state entity enter into an arbitration agreement? Only four African countries – Morocco, Madagascar, Senegal and Sierra Leone – signed it. The entity needs approval of the Ruler of Dubai to agree to any such provisions. The easiest and most efficient way of dealing with state immunity is to seek an express waiver of that immunity. The immunity of a state from suit is a privilege which it may waive at its pleasure. The Federal Government of Nigeria argued that the Nigerian Government was immune from jurisdiction, by virtue of section 1 of the State Immunity Act, 1978 and that there was no waiver of that immunity. The 65th session of the United Nations General Assembly, in a bid to stem the rising embarrassment foisted on the international community by willy-nilly breaches of international obligations and the blocking of legal or judicial remedies in the name of sovereign or state immunity, adopted the UN Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and their Property, 2004. So much frenzy and hysteria has gripped the intellectual and political space of Nigeria, and possibly beyond, over the clause waiving Nigeria’s sovereign immunity in the 2018 rail construction contract executed between the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Export-Import Bank of China. An arbitration clause is usually sufficient as a waiver of state immunity from suit and such clause should in theory grant a tribunal jurisdiction. laws that operate at the specific level of each Emirate. Justice Thomas, who delivered the lead opinion of that Court, opined as follows: ‘’After independence, the States considered themselves fully sovereign nations. 11 of 1992 (the Civil Procedures Law) includes a general prohibition on the seizure of “[p]ublic property owned by the state or any of the Emirates” for the purposes of enforcement.