The Immunity of State-Owned Vessels in Swedish Judicial Practice During World War II

Extract

During the past few years Swedish Courts have repeatedly dealt with cases involving problems of international law of great general interest. Several of these cases have concerned problems of the immunity of ships owned by foreign Governments. Each case has presented characteristic peculiarities and difficulties of its own and as a result various legal aspects of the problem have been thoroughly examined by the courts. Apart from these purely legal difficulties the cases have usually been of a politically delicate character. There has thus existed the risk that foreign Governments would attempt to bring pressure to bear on the Swedish courts whose independence and objectivity have, therefore, frequently been severely tested. This circumstance renders an examination of Swedish judicial practice during the past few years particularly interesting. Owing to the importance of the problems dealt with from the point of view of international law and of the light they shed on the administration of justice in Sweden during a difficult period, a brief summary and analysis of the principal cases may be of some interest to the American public.