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England and Wales decisions
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The Supreme Court held that Spain and Zimbabwe waived adjudicative immunity under article 54(1) of the ICSID Convention, allowing registration of the awards.
The Employment Tribunal did not err in law in finding that Ms Alhayali’s functions were not sufficiently close to the exercise of sovereign authority to attract state immunity under section 4 of the State Immunity Act 1978. The Embassy is not immune from her EU law-derived employment claims. The question of waiver is academic given this finding. The claim for psychiatric injury falls within the personal injury exception in section 5, but the interaction with sections 4 and 16 means that only claims not excluded by those sections are permitted. The appeal is allowed and the ET’s order restored.
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Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia (Cultural Bureau) v Alhayali [2025] EWCA Civ 1162 (11 September 2025)
The Court of Appeal restored the Employment Tribunal’s decision that the Saudi Embassy had no state immunity under s 4 for Ms Alhayali’s EU-law employment claims.
The Employment Tribunal erred in law by failing to give any weight to the Embassy's official statement regarding authority to waive immunity, and by misapplying the legal test for whether the claimant's functions were sufficiently close to the exercise of sovereign authority. On the facts found, the claimant's employment was sufficiently close to the public service of the Embassy to attract state immunity. However, the Tribunal was correct that section 5 SIA disapplies immunity for claims of psychiatric injury, and Ogbonna remains good law.
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Border Timbers Ltd & Anor v Republic of Zimbabwe [2024] EWHC 58 (Comm) (19 January 2024)
The High Court considered whether Zimbabwe could rely on state immunity to set aside registration of an ICSID award and held the registration order should stand.
Charles & Anor, R (On the Application Of) v The Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs [2020] EWHC 3185 (Admin) (24 November 2020)
The High Court held that Anne Sacoolas had diplomatic immunity at the time of Harry Dunn’s death, and rejected claims that the FCO unlawfully obstructed police inquiries or breached Article 2 ECHR.
The Administrative Court held that Mrs Sacoolas had diplomatic immunity from criminal jurisdiction under the VCDR, with no express waiver applying to her.
The Commercial Court enforced a £100 million arbitral peremptory order and rejected the KRG’s state immunity challenge under the State Immunity Act 1978.
The UK Supreme Court allowed NML Capital’s appeal, holding Argentina was not entitled to state immunity in proceedings to enforce a New York judgment on sovereign bonds.
The High Court refused a jurisdiction challenge in a personal injury claim from Iraq, finding the First Defendant had immunity there and that England was the proper forum.
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