State Immunity Act 1978

The State Immunity Act 1978 is an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom which was passed to implement the European Convention on State Immunity of 1972 into British law. The doctrine of absolute state immunity was changed to one of restricted immunity, whereby a foreign state could be sued in the British courts for some certain activities, usually of a commercial nature.

In 1998 the defence attempted to use it during Augusto Pinochet's arrest and trial, but Lord Nicholls said that the Act flouted a battery of international legislation on human rights abuses to which Britain is a signatory, and would have meant, according to the arguments of Pinochet's legal team, that British law would have protected even Adolf Hitler.

In June 2006 the law was used to dismiss an appeal by three Britons (Sandy Mitchell, Les Walker and Ron Jones) and a Canadian (William Sampson) who were convicted and imprisoned for car bombings and illicit alcohol trading in Saudi Arabia. The Law Lords upheld an appeal by the government of Saudi Arabia against the four men who wished to sue the Saudi government for damages relating to alleged torture. Despite the ruling, the four continue to maintain that they were mistreated by Saudi officials both before and after they were jailed in November 2000. They were released from prison in 2003 on royal pardon.^[1]

References

↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/5078118.stm

External links

Text of the State Immunity Act 1978 as in force today (including any amendments) within the United Kingdom, from legislation.gov.uk
Summary of important sections of the Act
House of Lords judgment in Holland v. Lampen-Wolfe

United Kingdom legislation

Pre-Parliamentary legislation	List of English statutes Charter of Liberties Magna Carta

Acts of Parliament by states preceding the Kingdom of Great Britain	Acts of the Parliament of England to 1483 1485–1601 1603–1641 Interregnum (1642–1660) 1660–1699 1700–1706 Acts of the Parliament of Scotland

Acts of Parliament of the Kingdom of Great Britain	1707–1719 1720–1739 1740–1759 1760–1779 1780–1800

Acts of the Parliament of Ireland	to 1700 1701–1800

Acts of Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	1801–1819 1820–1839 1840–1859 1860–1879 1880–1899 1900–1919 1920–1939 1940–1959 1960–1979 1980–1999 2000 to date Halsbury's Statutes Legislation.gov.uk Short titles

Church of England measures	List Church of England Assembly (Powers) Act 1919

Legislation of devolved institutions	Acts of the Scottish Parliament List Acts and Measures of the National Assembly for Wales List Acts of the Northern Ireland Assembly List Acts of the Parliament of Northern Ireland List Orders in Council for Northern Ireland List

Orders-in-Council	Order in Council

Secondary legislation	United Kingdom Statutory Instruments Scottish Statutory Instruments Acts of Sederunt Acts of Adjournal

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