China’s NEW Law on Foreign State Immunity and Related U.S. Experiences

Image: Gerd Altmann, Judge Gavel (Publicdomainpictures.net)

中国颁布《外国国家豁免法》,标志着中国从容许外国国家在中国法院享有“绝对豁免”正式过渡到将豁免限制于某些类型的诉讼。这种过渡与美国(体现于1976 年《外国主权豁免法》)所采用的做法一致。然而,通过比较中国《外国国家豁免法》和美国《外国主权豁免法》以及美国的相关法理(见小约翰·M·沃克(John M. Walker Jr.)巡回法官通过丝络谈™所发表的文章),可以发现两国做法之间的关键差异。Read more

The United States Approach to Foreign Sovereign Immunity

Image: George Hodan, Judge Gavel (Publicdomainpictures.net)

本文由美国联邦第二巡回上诉法院小约翰·M·沃克(John M. Walker Jr.)资深法官撰写。文章概述了美国对外国主权豁免的做法。首先,文章追溯该原则的起源至美国早期的法理学,并叙述了该原则的发展及其最终被编入1976 年《外国主权豁免法》。文章随后综述《外国主权豁免法》的相关规定和部分司法解释。Read more

China’s NEW Law on Foreign State Immunity and Related U.S. Experiences

Image: Gerd Altmann, Judge Gavel (Publicdomainpictures.net)

China’s enactment of the Foreign State Immunity Law marks the country’s formal transition from affording foreign states “absolute immunity” in Chinese courts to restricting the immunity to certain types of lawsuits. This transition is in line with the approach used in the United States, as codified in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (“FSIA”). However, a comparison between China’s Foreign State Immunity Law and the FSIA and related U.S. jurisprudence——as discussed by Circuit Judge John M. Walker Jr. in an article published by SINOTALKS®——reveals key differences between the two countries’ approaches.Read more

The United States Approach to Foreign Sovereign Immunity

Image: George Hodan, Judge Gavel (Publicdomainpictures.net)

Written by Judge John M. Walker Jr., a senior judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, this article provides an overview of the U.S. approach to foreign sovereign immunity. First, it traces the doctrine’s origins in early American jurisprudence and recounts the development of the doctrine and its eventual codification in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (“FSIA”) of 1976. The article then summarizes relevant provisions and certain judicial interpretations of the FSIA.Read more