The Cambridge Handbook of Immunities and International Law

by Tom Ruys, Nicolas Angelet, Luca Ferro

Overview

Few topics of international law speak to the imagination as much as international immunities. Questions pertaining to immunity from jurisdiction or execution under international law surface on a frequent basis before national courts, including at the highest levels of the judicial branch and before international courts or tribunals. Nevertheless, international immunity law is and remains a challenging field for practitioners and scholars alike. Challenges stem in part from the uncertainty pertaining to the customary content of some immunity regimes said to be in a 'state of flux', the divergent – and at times directly conflicting - approaches to immunity in different national and international jurisdictions, or the increasing intolerance towards impunity that has accompanied the advance of international criminal law and human rights law. Composed of thirty-four expertly written contributions, the present volume uniquely provides a comprehensive tour d'horizon of international immunity law, traversing a wealth of national and international practice.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781108417884
Publisher:	Cambridge University Press
Publication date:	05/02/2019
Pages:	790
Product dimensions:	7.20(w) x 10.24(h) x 1.77(d)

About the Author

Tom Ruys is a Professor of International Law at Universiteit Gent, Belgium where he heads the Ghent Rolin-Jaequemyns International Law Institute. He holds a doctoral degree from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven and is a member of the Brussels Bar. He was a visiting researcher at Yale Law School in 2008 and a visiting fellow at the Cambridge Lauterpacht Centre in 2016. Ruys is co-editor-in-chief of the Journal on the Use of Force and International Law and the Military Law and Law of War Review. He was previously awarded the Francis Lieber Prize (2015 article prize and 2011 book prize) as well as the Francis Deák Prize (2015).

Nicolas Angelet is a Professor of InternationalLlaw at the Université Libre de Bruxelles, where he notably lectures on diplomatic and consular law, and is a member of the University's Centre de Droit International. He holds a doctoral degree from the Katholieke Universiteit Leuven. He is a member of the Brussels Bar and an associate tenant of Doughty Street Chambers, London. He has acted as counsel in numerous immunity cases before the Belgian courts, as well as lead counsel before the French and Dutch courts.

Luca Ferro is a doctoral researcher at the Ghent Rolin-Jaequemyns International Law Institute and a former Visiting Scholar at Columbia Law School (2018). He is working on a Research Foundation – Flanders (FWO) project regarding the impact of the non-intervention principle on third-State assistance to parties engaged in a non-international armed conflict. His writings have appeared (or are forthcoming) in the International & Comparative Law Quarterly, the International Journal of Constitutional Law, the Chinese Journal of International Law and the Military Law and Law of War Review.

Table of Contents

1. Introduction –international immunities in a state of flux? Tom Ruys, Nicolas Angelet and Luca Ferro; 2. The restrictive rule of state immunity – the 1970s enactment and its contemporary status Hazel Fox; 3. The sources of immunity law – between international and domestic law Lori Fisler Damrosch; 4. Divergent views on state immunity in the international community Wenhua Shan and Peng Wang; 5. Immunity and the exercise of jurisdiction – indirect impleading and Exequatur Nicolas Angelet; 6. Jurisdictional immunity of states and general international law – explaining the Jus Gestionis V. Jus Imperii divide Alexander Orakhelashvili; 7. Jurisdictional immunity of states – commercial transactions Yas Banifatemi; 8. Jurisdictional immunity of states and non-commercial torts Sally El Sawah; 9. Waivers of jurisdictional immunity Catherine Amirfar; 10. Jurisdictional immunities of international organizations – origins, fundamentals and challenges Niels Blokker; 11. Immunities of the United Nations and specialized agencies Kristen E. Boon; 12. Jurisdictional immunity of regional organizations – substantive unity in instrumental diversity? Ramses A. Wessel; 13. The material scope of state immunity from execution Jean-Marc Thouvenin and Victor Grandaubert; 14. Immunity from execution of Central Bank assets Ingrid Wuerth; 15. Immunity from execution and diplomatic property Cedric Ryngaert; 16. Immunity from execution of military and cultural property Matthew Happold; 17. Measures of constraint and the immunity of international organizations Eric De Brabandere; 18. Enforcing sovereign arbitral awards – state defences and creditor strategies in an 1. Imperfect World Mark A. Cymrot; 19. Immunity from execution and domestic procedural rules – preventive control, burden of proof and discovery Mathias Audit, Nicolas Angelet and Maria-Clara Van Den Bossche; 20. Waivers of immunity from execution Frédéric Dopagne; 21. Immunities of diplomatic and consular personnel – an overview Sanderijn Duquet; 22. Diplomatic and consular immunities – trends and challenges Eileen Denza; 23. The immunities of members of special missions Andrew Sanger and Michael Wood; 24. Foreign officials entitled to (absolute) personal immunity during their time in office Muriel Ubéda-Saillard; 25. Functional immunity of state officials from the criminal jurisdiction of foreign national courts Rosanne Van Alebeek; 26. Immunities of foreign officials from civil jurisdiction Chimène I. Keitner; 27. Immunities of civil servants of international organizations Christian Walter and Fabian Preger; 28. The immunities of visiting forces Aurel Sari; 29. Between a rock and a hard place – immunities of the United Nations and human rights Rosa Freedman and Nicolas Lemay-Hébert; 30. Immunities and the international criminal court Harmen Van Der Wilt; 31. Immunities and Jus Cogens violations Pierre D'argent and Pauline Lesaffre; 32. Judicial review of qualifications made by receiving states and host states of international organizations Phillipa Webb; 33. Immunity and terrorism David P. Stewart; 34. Immunity, inviolability and countermeasures – a closer look at non-UN targeted sanctions Tom Ruys.

Editorial Reviews

‘We are living in a time when traditional immunities protective of states, international organizations, and their officials are being severely challenged, not least by calls for greater accountability and enforcement of human rights protections. This volume assembles an extraordinary array of scholars and practitioners who comprehensively, cogently and thoughtfully analyse the existing law of the wide array of immunity regimes, drawing upon copious contemporary state practice and jurisprudence.' Sean D. Murphy, George Washington University Law School, UN International Law Commission and President of the American Society of International Law

‘Whoever seeks clarification on any immunity question should consult this Handbook. It offers an excellent overview and detailed discussion of the international law aspects written by outstanding scholars and practitioners.' August Reinisch, Member of the International Law Commission and Universität Wien

‘In sum, international immunities are difficult and complex. Scholars and practitioners may rely on The Cambridge Handbook of Immunities and International Law to dispel some of that complexity. It is a very good book that will make the lives of practitioners, scholars, civil servants, and judges easier. It should be on their bookshelves.’ Manuel Casas Martínez, The Journal of International Arbitration

From the Publisher