Case Number

PLA 7092/94

Date Decided

6-3-1997

Decision Type

Appellate

Document Type

Full Opinion

Abstract

Facts: Respondents leased a house to the appellant, a foreign sovereign. The house was to serve as the residence of the Canadian ambassador to Israel. The parties disputed the right of the appellant to exercise his option to extend the lease. The magistrate court, in a declaratory judgment, rejected the appellant's claim of absolute immunity, held that the lease had ended, and ordered the appellant to vacate the property. The district court upheld the decision of the magistrate court. Appellant appealed to the Supreme Court.

Held: The Supreme Court held that a foreign sovereign enjoys only relative immunity, and not absolute immunity, from the jurisdiction of Israeli courts. As such, in matters of private commercial law, a foreign sovereign is subject to the jurisdiction of Israeli courts. The Court also held that, in any specific case, whether Israeli courts had jurisdiction would be decided by looking to the legal nature of the transaction, rather than its underlying purpose. As the lease contract was of a private, commercial nature, Canada could not assert immunity from Israeli jurisdiction. The Court also distinguished between the sovereign immunity of the foreign state and the diplomatic immunity of its ambassador. The Court held that the ambassador could not assert diplomatic immunity in this case, as the house was rented by Canada, and the Canadian ambassador was not a party to the lease.

Keywords

Administrative Law -- Foreigners, International Law -- Foreign immunity, Property

Download

Share

COinS