General Dynamics United Kingdom Ltd v. State of Libya

Abstract

Arbitration — Arbitral Tribunal of International Chamber of Commerce — Arbitral award — Damages — Failure to pay amount awarded — Enforcement proceedings — United Kingdom — Arbitration Act 1996 — Service of proceedings commenced in accordance with Arbitration Act 1996 — Whether service of proceedings must comply with State Immunity Act 1978 — Difficulty effecting service on defendant State

Comity — Comity of nations as an interpretative principle — Subjecting State to jurisdiction of the courts of another State — Procedure for service — State Immunity Act 1978 — Obligations of States in the marketplace — Commercial legal obligations of States

Human rights — Treaties — European Convention on Human Rights, 1950 — Article 6 — Access to jurisdiction of the courts — Relationship between Article 6 and State immunity — Whether requirement for service through diplomatic channels impeding Article 6 rights

Relationship of international law and municipal law — Customary international law — United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property, 2004 — State Immunity Act 1978 — Treaty provisions as an aid to interpretation of domestic law — Whether international custom existing at the time of passage of domestic law

State immunity — State Immunity Act 1978 — Service — Procedure for service — Whether Section 12(1) applicable — Whether arbitration claim form or enforcement order a document required to be served — Whether court having discretion to dispense with service on defendant State — Exceptional circumstances preventing service through diplomatic channels — The law of England