foreign-sovereign-immunity

24 cases — ← All topics

Case Title Lower Court Docketed Status Flags Tags Question Presented
25A334 Amaplat Mauritius Ltd., et al. v. Zimbabwe Mining Development Corporation, et al. District of Columbia 2025-09-23 Presumed Complete arbitration enforcement-of-award foreign-sovereign-immunity new-york-convention sovereign-immunity waiver Whether a foreign state's submission to arbitration in a New York Convention jurisdiction constitutes an implied waiver of sovereign immunity from a s…
24-699 Exxon Mobil Corporation v. Corporación Cimex, S.A. (Cuba), et al. District of Columbia 2024-12-31 Granted CVSGAmici (13)Relisted (2) cuban-property-confiscation foreign-sovereign-immunity helms-burton-act international-law property-rights sovereign-immunity-exception Whether the Helms-Burton Act abrogates foreign sovereign immunity in cases against Cuban instrumentalities, or whether parties proceeding under that A…
24-341 Juan Carlos Emden, et al. v. The Museum of Fine Arts, Houston Fifth Circuit 2024-09-26 Denied Response Waived act-of-state-doctrine federal-civil-procedure foreign-sovereign-immunity judicial-inference nazi-art-restitution rule-12(b)(6) Whether the Fifth Circuit's application of the act of state doctrine conflicts with precedent regarding adjudication of foreign sovereign acts and whe…
23-1075 Zehava Friedman, et al. v. Republic of Hungary, et al. District of Columbia 2024-04-03 Denied Relisted (2) domestic-takings-exception expropriation foreign-sovereign-immunities-act foreign-sovereign-immunity holocaust-expropriation international-law international-law-taking property-rights stateless-persons treaty-of-trianon Whether Hungary and MAV violated the international law of expropriation by seizing stateless persons' property
23-568 Robert Bartlett, et al. v. Muhammad Baasiri, et al. Second Circuit 2023-11-28 Denied Amici (5)Response RequestedRelisted (2) 28-usc-1603 circuit-split complaint-filing-time dole-food-precedent dole-food-v-patrickson foreign-sovereign-immunities-act foreign-sovereign-immunity instrumentality-status jurisdiction jurisdictional-determination standing Whether a defendant's status as an instrumentality of a foreign state under 28 U.S.C. § 1603(b)(2) 'is determined at the time of the filing of the com…
23-390 Arun Kumar Bhattacharya v. State Bank of India Seventh Circuit 2023-10-13 Denied circuit-split commercial-activity-exception direct-effects-clause foreign-relations foreign-sovereign-immunities-act foreign-sovereign-immunity statutory-interpretation u.s.-jurisdictional-requirements Whether a 'direct effect in the United States' under 28 U.S.C. 1605(a)(2) requires a 'legally significant act' in the U.S. or 'legally significant' U.…
22-886 Blenheim Capital Holdings Ltd., et al. v. Lockheed Martin Corporation, et al. Fourth Circuit 2023-03-15 Denied CVSGAmici (1)Response RequestedResponse WaivedRelisted (3) circuit-split commercial-activity contract-law foreign-sovereign-immunities foreign-sovereign-immunity fsia international-law jurisdictional-immunity military-procurement weltover Is a foreign government's procurement of goods for a military purpose, through a contract with a U.S. company, commercial-activity
22-463 Aenergy, S.A., et al. v. Republic of Angola, et al. Second Circuit 2022-11-16 Denied Response Waived civil-procedure federal-courts foreign-sovereign-immunities-act foreign-sovereign-immunity forum-non-conveniens jurisdiction jurisdictional-exception sovereign-immunity statutory-interpretation Whether courts may dismiss FSIA suits against foreign sovereign defendants on forum non conveniens grounds
22-243 Museum of Fine Arts, et al. v. David L. de Csepel, et al. District of Columbia 2022-09-14 Denied civil-procedure civil-rights exhaustion federal-rules foreign-policy foreign-sovereign-immunity international-comity republic-of-philippines-v-pimentel rule-19 sovereign-defense Whether non-immune foreign sovereign entities may raise a defense of international comity (exhaustion)
21-1450 Turkiye Halk Bankasi A.S., aka Halkbank v. United States Second Circuit 2022-05-17 Judgment Issued Amici (9) 18-usc-3231 28-usc-1330 28-usc-1602-1611 criminal-prosecution district-court-jurisdiction foreign-sovereign-immunities foreign-sovereign-immunity sovereign-immunity statutory-interpretation subject-matter-jurisdiction Whether U.S. district courts may exercise subject-matter jurisdiction over criminal prosecutions against foreign sovereigns and their instrumentalitie…
21-1335 Waleed Khalid Abu Al-Waleed Al Hood Al-Qarqani, et al. v. Saudi Arabian Oil Company Fifth Circuit 2022-04-07 Denied Response Waived arbitral-award arbitration cross-appeal foreign-sovereign-immunity jurisdictional-immunity new-york-convention sovereign-waiver united-nations-convention waiver Whether a foreign sovereign may assert FSIA as a defense to enforcement of a foreign arbitral award
21-685 Alexander Khochinsky v. Republic of Poland District of Columbia 2021-11-09 Denied Response Waived bad-faith bad-faith-litigation civil-rights diplomatic-immunity extradition foreign-sovereign-immunities-act foreign-sovereign-immunity personal-property religion-ethnicity sovereign-immunity Whether a foreign state that seeks to resolve title to moveable personal property because it is owned by an individual of a particular religion or eth…
20-1054 Vipula D. Valambhia, et al. v. United Republic of Tanzania, et al. District of Columbia 2021-02-03 Denied bank-account commercial-activities commercial-activities-exception direct-effects foreign-judgments foreign-sovereign-immunities foreign-sovereign-immunity international-law judgment-recognition jurisdiction payments u.s.-banking Whether clause 3 of the commercial activities exception to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), 28 U.S.C. § 1605(a)(2), provides for jurisdict…
20-307 Shahrokh Mireskandari v. Barrington Mayne, et al. Ninth Circuit 2020-09-09 Denied Amici (2)Response Waived common-law-immunity foreign-agents foreign-sovereign-immunities-act foreign-sovereign-immunity governmental-organ jurisdictional-immunity sovereign-immunity state-department tort-liability tortious-conduct uk-government Whether the Law Society of England and Wales and the U.K. Solicitors Regulation Authority are entitled to sovereign immunity as 'organs' of a foreign …
19-1049 Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, et al. v. Crystallex International Corporation Third Circuit 2020-02-24 Denied alter-ego alter-ego-doctrine attachment exceptional-importance foreign-sovereign-immunities-act foreign-sovereign-immunity fsia instrumentality international-law judgment-enforcement pdvsa sovereign-immunity third-circuit Whether a judgment-enforcement action against a foreign sovereign and its instrumentality must be predicated on applicable exceptions to the immunity …
19-807 Bank Melli v. Michael Bennett, et al. Ninth Circuit 2019-12-26 Denied agency-instrumentality asset-execution blocked-assets default-judgment foreign-sovereign-immunity juridical-separation separate-entity state-owned-entity terrorism-risk-insurance-act treaty-obligations Whether TRIA requires that the respondent actually own the assets at issue, or whether the statute permits execution even absent ownership
19-606 Ukraine v. Pao Tatneft District of Columbia 2019-11-12 Denied arbitration-agreement arbitration-enforcement arbitration-exception foreign-sovereign-immunity international-arbitration new-york-convention sovereign-immunity subject-matter-jurisdiction waiver-exception Whether the D.C. Circuit correctly held that: (1) all 160 signatories to the Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards …
19-520 Alan Philipp, et al. v. Federal Republic of Germany, et al. District of Columbia 2019-10-22 Denied CVSGRelisted (3) commercial-activity expropriation-exception foreign-state international-law property-rights commercial-activity expropriation expropriation-exception foreign-sovereign-immunities foreign-sovereign-immunity instrumentality international-law jurisdiction property-claims property-rights Is the Federal Republic of Germany subject to jurisdiction under the expropriation exception of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act for claims to pro…
19-351 Federal Republic of Germany, et al. v. Alan Philipp, et al. District of Columbia 2019-09-18 Judgment Issued CVSGAmici (9)Relisted (3) circuit-split comity diplomatic-issues expropriation-exception foreign-sovereign-immunities foreign-sovereign-immunity human-rights-law international-comity international-human-rights international-law property-taking property-takings takings Whether the 'expropriation exception' of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act provides jurisdiction over claims that a foreign sovereign has violated …
19-301 Republic of Kazakhstan v. Anatolie Stati, et al. District of Columbia 2019-09-05 Denied Response Waived arbitration civil-procedure confirmation-proceeding due-process foreign-arbitral-award foreign-arbitral-awards foreign-sovereign-immunity fraud fraud-defense new-york-convention public-policy sovereign-immunity Whether a district court may confirm a foreign arbitral award that violates the long-established public policy of the United States, merely because th…
19-236 Achashverosh Adnah Ammiyhuwd v. Michael R. Pompeo, Secretary of State, et al. Seventh Circuit 2019-08-22 Denied Response WaivedRelisted (2) civil-procedure collateral-order-doctrine dred-scott due-process equal-protection foreign-sovereign-immunity functional-immunity habeas-corpus standing state-action-immunity yick-wo Whether orders denying state-action-immunity, functional-immunity, foreign-sovereign-immunity, are immediately appealable under the collateral-order-d…
18-1447 Republic of Hungary, et al. v. Rosalie Simon, et al. District of Columbia 2019-05-20 Judgment Issued CVSGAmici (7)Relisted (4) choice-of-forum comity-interest exhaustion-of-local-remedies exhaustion-of-remedies foreign-sovereign-immunities-act foreign-sovereign-immunity forum-non-conveniens international-comity naturalized-citizens world-war-ii-property-claims Whether the district court must abstain from exercising jurisdiction under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act for reasons of international comity wh…
18-948 In Re Grand Jury Subpoena District of Columbia 2019-01-22 Denied Relisted (4) 18-usc-3231 28-usc-1330 28-usc-1604 contempt-sanctions criminal-jurisdiction foreign-sovereign-immunities-act foreign-sovereign-immunity fsia jurisdictional-exceptions sovereign-immunity subject-matter-jurisdiction Does the FSIA grant foreign states sovereign immunity from American criminal jurisdiction?
18-544 Teresita A. Canuto v. Department of Defense, et al. District of Columbia 2018-10-25 Denied Response Waived 28-usc-1604 28-usc-1605 acting-official foreign-sovereign-immunities foreign-sovereign-immunities-act foreign-sovereign-immunity foreign-state government-liability individual-capacity individual-liability official-capacity service-of-process sovereign-immunity state-immunity statutory-interpretation subject-matter-jurisdiction Whether a foreign state's immunity from suit under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act extends to an individual for acts taken in the individual's fo…