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International Law

Columbia Law School

Faculty Scholarship

Series

2011

Government liability

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Full-Text Articles in Law

Changing The International Law Of Sovereign Immunity Through National Decisions, Lori Fisler Damrosch Jan 2011

Changing The International Law Of Sovereign Immunity Through National Decisions, Lori Fisler Damrosch

Faculty Scholarship

The international law of sovereign immunity derives from state practice embodied in national judicial decisions and legislation. Although some U.S. Supreme Court decisions refer to this body of law using terms like "grace and comity," the customary international law of sovereign immunity is law, which national courts should consider when arriving at immunity decisions. While it would be possible for a widely followed international treaty to work changes in customary international law, the UN Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property has not done so yet. National legislation such as the U.S. Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act can precipitate …