Work Area: Sovereign immunity

Eversheds Sutherland's Will O’Brien and Ulyana Bardyn consider recent US law developments on sovereign immunity in the P&ID v Nigeria case.

24 March 2022

The Singapore High Court has ruled that as a foreign state India is entitled to an extra two months to challenge enforcement of a US$137 million investment treaty award and that it does not have to provide security.

15 March 2022

The Commercial Court in London has upheld an order enforcing a £16 million ICC award against Libya while ruling a US-owned defence contractor should be deprived of court costs for failing to raise sovereign immunity issues.

14 March 2022

A US court has rejected Pakistan’s bid to stay enforcement of an Australian mining venture’s US$6 billion ICSID award, calling the state’s hopes of annulling the award “wishful thinking”.

11 March 2022

A court in New Zealand has said it can hear a request for recognition of an ICSID award against Hungary, even though there is no evidence the state has any assets in the jurisdiction.

04 February 2022

A US appeals court has said it lacks jurisdiction to intervene in Canadian mining company Crystallex’s efforts to execute a US$1.4 billion ICSID award against Venezuela’s largest foreign asset as the lower court has yet to make a final decision.

19 January 2022

The Court of Appeal in London has blocked an insurance club from pursuing litigation against Spain and France over their failure to comply with awards relating to an oil spill in the Atlantic 19 years ago – but related arbitrations brought by the club will proceed.

09 November 2021

A US appeals court has affirmed that two US-Dominican investors were out of time in serving set-aside proceedings on the Dominican Republic in their bid to revive a nearly US$42 million DR-CAFTA claim.

27 October 2021

Jonathan Gimblett and Tom Cusworth of Covington & Burling consider a recent UK Supreme Court ruling that service of enforcement proceedings on a foreign state through diplomatic channels cannot be dispensed with – arguing it has strengthened the hand of debtor states.

22 July 2021

The Eastern Caribbean Court of Appeal has ruled it has no power to grant injunctive relief against Pakistan at the request of an ICSID creditor when a lower court’s finding that the state enjoys immunity has not been set aside.

15 July 2021