The House considered a claim following seizure of ammunition by British officers in Muscat under the authority of a proclamation of the absolute ruler, the Sultan of Muscat, whose word was law.
Held: The appeal succeeded. To found an action here arising from an action taken abroad, the wrong must be both such that had it been committed here, it would have been a tort, and that it was justiciable as a wrong in the place where it had been committed. The action having been at the request of the lawful authority in Muscat, no action was available here against the naval officer involved.
The Earl of Halsbury LC’s said that the lawfulness of what happened
‘rests, and must rest, upon the authority of the sovereign of Muscat; and it appears to me that any other decision would be open to very serious questions of policy if, in every case where the lord of a country has declared what the law of his own country is, it were open to an English tribunal to enter into the question and to determine, as against him, what was the law of his country.’
Judges:
Lord NacNaghten, The Earl of Halsbury LC
Citations:
[1902] AC 176, 71 LJ KB 361, 85 LT 144, 50 WR 257, 17 TLR 657
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Appeal from – Fracis Times and Co v Carr CA 1901
To accept that a foreign judgment was in rem, the judgment must relate to an item within (actually or constructively) the jurisdiction of the court issuing the judgment at the time the order was made. . .
Approved – Nabob of The Carnatic v East India Company 28-Jan-1793
The case arose out of the East India Company’s controversial relations with the Nabob at a stage when the courts had not yet learned to identify the East India Company with the British government. The Company had assisted the Nabob, a sovereign . .
Cited by:
Cited – Belhaj and Another v Straw and Others SC 17-Jan-2017
The claimant alleged complicity by the defendant, (now former) Foreign Secretary, in his mistreatment by the US while held in Libya. He also alleged involvement in his unlawful abduction and removal to Libya, from which had had fled for political . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
International, Torts – Other
Updated: 14 June 2022; Ref: scu.634756
