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State immunity & arbitral awards

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30 May 2025 / Masood Ahmed , Osman Mohammed
Issue: 8118 / Categories: Features , Procedure & practice , Jurisdiction , Arbitration , Commercial , International
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Masood Ahmed & Osman Mohammed consider whether states must give express consent to waive their immunity
  • The Commercial Court has held that state immunity is procedural, and enforcement of arbitral awards against states requires an express and unequivocal waiver of immunity.
  • This decision highlights the need for clear, written agreements from states waiving immunity in arbitration and enforcement proceedings to avoid legal barriers.

In the recent case of CC/Devas (Mauritius) Ltd and other companies v The Republic of India [2025] EWHC 964 (Comm), the Commercial Court was asked to determine whether a state waives its right to sovereign immunity under the State Immunity Act 1978 (SIA 1978) and thereby submits to the adjudicative jurisdiction of the English courts because it has ratified the New York Convention on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Arbitral Awards 1958 (NYC).

The claimants commenced arbitration proceedings against the Republic of India in respect of India’s termination of a satellite communications contract. The claimants obtained an order from the Commercial Court to enforced two bilateral investment treaty awards against

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