Subjects:

Public International Law

• A fully revised new edition of this highly regarded and comprehensive guide, providing new analysis of the United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and their Property
• Contains both conceptual analysis and detailed examination of caselaw and international and domestic laws by a leading practitioner
• Gives detailed comparative coverage of the UK and US domestic legislation
• Considers the relationship between State immunity and human rights conventions

• This edition has been completely restructured to examine current international law in light of the United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and their Property
• Increased coverage of the issues of international crimes and international criminal law, individual criminal responsibility, and universal jurisdiction

The doctrine of State immunity bars a national court from adjudicating or enforcing claims against foreign states. This doctrine, the foundation for high-profile national and international decisions such as those in the Pinochet case and the Arrest Warrant cases, has always been controversial. The reasons for the controversy are many and varied. Some argue that state immunity paves the way for State violations of human rights. Others argue that the customary basis for the doctrine is not a sufficient basis for regulation and that codification is the way forward. Still others argue that even when judgements are made in national courts against other states, the doctrine makes enforcement of these decisions impossible.

This fully restructured new edition addresses all of these issues by reference to the United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and their Property. Through a detailed examination of the sources of law and of English and US case law, and a comparative analysis of other types of immunity, Hazel Fox explores both the law as it stands, and what it could and should be in years to come.