Dr Angelika Hellweger explores the clash between digital espionage, territorial sovereignty & legislation drafted for another era
- Discusses the reasoning behind majority and dissenting judgments in the landmark Supreme Court case on state immunity and cyber surveillance, Bahrain v Shehabi.
- Explains importance of Shehabi both for future cyber attack and espionage cases and on the wider subject of statutory interpretation in public international law.
The UK Supreme Court has delivered a landmark judgment in The Kingdom of Bahrain v Shehabi and another [2026] UKSC 25, a decision that may prove to be one of the most significant state immunity cases in decades. Although the dispute arose from allegations of state-sponsored cyber surveillance, the wider significance of the judgment lies in its interpretation of the State Immunity Act 1978 (SIA 1978) and the extent to which legislation drafted almost half a century ago can adequately address the realities of modern technology.
The court was closely divided. By a majority of three to two, it held that Bahrain could not rely on
