Foreign Public Law Not Enforceable Here
The claimant alleged a conspiracy by the defendants for his overthrow by means of a private coup d’etat. The defendants denied that the court had jurisdiction. The claimants appealed dismissal of their claim to damages.
Held: The claims were not justiciable here. Public laws, like penal laws, may not be enforced directly or indirectly in the English Courts. The court approved the statement: ‘a foreign State cannot enforce in England such rights as are founded upon its peculiar powers of prerogative. ‘ The critical question is whether in bringing a claim, a claimant is doing an act which is of a sovereign character or which is done by virtue of sovereign authority; and whether the claim involves the exercise or assertion of a sovereign right. If so, then the court will not determine or enforce the claim. On the other hand, if in bringing the claim the claimant is not doing an act which is of a sovereign character or by virtue of sovereign authority and the claim does not involve the exercise or assertion of a sovereign right and the claim does not seek to vindicate a sovereign act or acts, then the court will both determine and enforce it. However, the claims pleaded were not founded on the claimants’ property interests. The alleged losses arose as a result of decisions taken by the claimants to protect the state and citizens of Equatorial Guinea. The defence of a state and its subjects is a paradigm function of government. The allegations of assault in that any threat was not immediate.
Sir Anthony Clarke MR, Lord Justice Dyson and Lord Justice Moses
Times 27-Oct-2006, [2006] EWCA Civ 1370, [2007] 2 WLR 1062
Bailii
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Emperor of Austria v Day and Kossuth 1861
The defendants had printed banknotes in London. Kossuth intended to use the notes in Hungary after overthrowing the Emperor of Austria by revolution. The Emperor obtained an injunction restraining the defendants from continuing to manufacture them. . .
Cited – RCA Corporation v Pollard CA 1982
The illegal activities of bootleggers who had made unauthorised recordings of concerts, diminished the profitability of contracts granting to the plaintiffs the exclusive right to exploit recordings by Elvis Presley.
Held: The defendant’s . .
Cited – Attorney-General of New Zealand v Ortiz ChD 1984
The New Zealand government sought the return of a Maori carving which had been bought by the defendant after it had been illegally exported from New Zealand. The defendant replied that an English court should not itself enforce a foreign penal . .
Cited – Attorney-General of New Zealand v Ortiz CA 2-Jan-1982
The defendant was to sell a Maori carving which had been unlawfully exported from New Zealand. The Attorney General sought its recovery and an injunction to prevent its sale, relying on the Historical Articles Act 1962. The judge had ordered its . .
Cited – Attorney-General of New Zealand v Ortiz HL 3-Jan-1983
The Attorney General had sought the return of a valuable Maori carving which had been illegally exported from New Zealand and was to be sold by the defendant. He appealed against a finding that the provision (s12 Historical Articles Act 1962 of New . .
Cited – Government of India v Taylor HL 1955
The Government of India sought to prove in the voluntary liquidation of a company registered in the United Kingdom but trading in India for a sum due in respect of Indian income tax, including capital gains tax, which arose on the sale of the . .
Cited – Re State of Norway’s Application (No 2) HL 1989
The government of Norway sought evidence here to support a claim for tax in Norway.
Held: The State of Norway’s application requesting the oral examination of two witnesses residing in England did not fall foul of the Revenue rule. A claim . .
Cited – Kingdom of Spain v Christie, Manson and Woods Ltd 1986
The court questioned the basis of the cause of action asserted in Austria -v- Day. . .
Cited – The President of the State of Equatorial Guinea and Another v Bank of Scotland International PC 27-Feb-2006
(Guernsey) Lord Bingham said: ‘Norwich Pharmacal relief exists to assist those who have been wronged but do not know by whom. If they have straight forward and available means of finding out, then it will not be reasonable to achieve that end by . .
Cited – Powell and Another v Boladz and others QBD 19-Sep-2003
. .
Cited – King of the Hellenes v Brostrom 1923
Rowlatt J said: ‘It is perfectly elementary that a foreign government cannot come here — nor will the courts of other countries allow our government to go there — and sue a person found in that jurisdiction for taxes levied and which he is . .
Cited – Government of India v Taylor HL 1955
The Government of India sought to prove in the voluntary liquidation of a company registered in the United Kingdom but trading in India for a sum due in respect of Indian income tax, including capital gains tax, which arose on the sale of the . .
Cited – Peter Buchanan Limited and Macharg v McVey 1954
(Supreme Court of Ireland) The plaintiff was a company registered in Scotland put into compulsory liquidation by the revenue under a substantial claim for excess profits tax and income tax. The liquidator was really a nominee of the revenue. The . .
Cited – Williams and Humbert Ltd v W and H Trade Marks (Jersey) Ltd HL 1986
There had been an expropriation by Spanish decrees of shares in a Spanish company whose English subsidiary had rights in trade marks which it had sold to a Jersey company. The Spanish and English companies sought certain relief in relation to the . .
Cited – United States of America v Inkley CA 1989
The court allowed a third category of case (after penal and revenue) of provisions of foreign law where an English court would decline to enforce a provision: ‘that the fact that the right, statutory or otherwise, is penal in nature will not deprive . .
Cited – Attorney-General for the United Kingdom v Heinemann Publishers Australia Pty Ltd 1988
(High Court of Australia) The A-G sought to prevent publication in Australia of the book Spycatcher, saying that it had been written by a former member of the British intelligence service and that it was derived from confidential material.
Cited – Attorney-General for the United Kingdom v Wellington Newspapers Ltd 1988
(New Zealand) The British government sought to prevent the publication in New Zealand of a book (‘Spycatcher’) written by a retired secret service officer saying that it was based in part on information received by him in confidence.
Held: The . .
Cited – Huntington v Attrill HL 1893
In deciding how to characterise a claim, the court must examine its substance, and not be misled by appearances. The territorial principle requires attention to be paid to the place where the act was committed. The court defined what was meant by a . .
Cited – Secretary of State for the Home Department v International Transport Roth Gmbh and others CA 22-Feb-2002
The Appellant had introduced a system of fining lorry drivers returning to the UK with illegal immigrants hiding away in their trucks. The rules had been found to be in breach of European law and an interference with their human rights. The . .
Cited – Stephens v Myers CCP 17-Jul-1830
Assault by Words Requires Means to Carry Out
In a turbulent parish council meeting, the meeting voted to have the defendant ejected. He refused, and advanced toward the chairman waving his clenched fist and saying he would rather throw him from the chair. He was stopped before getting within . .
Cited – Cobbett v Grey 1849
A prisoner complained that he had been falsely imprisoned in a part of a prison in which he could not lawfully be confined. . .
Cited – Collins v Wilcock QBD 1984
The defendant appealed against her conviction for assaulting a police constable in the execution of his duty. He had sought to caution her with regard to activity as a prostitute. The 1959 Act gave no power to detain, but he took hold of her. She . .
Cited – Regina v Burstow, Regina v Ireland HL 24-Jul-1997
The defendant was accused of assault occasioning actual bodily harm when he had made silent phone calls which were taken as threatening.
Held: An assault might consist of the making of a silent telephone call in circumstances where it causes . .
Cited – Thomas v NUM 1986
Threats made by pickets to miners going in to work were not an assault because the pickets had no capacity to put into effect their threats of violence whilst they were held back from the vehicles carrying the workers. . .
Appeal from – Mbasogo, President of the State of Equatorial Guinea and others v Logo Ltd and others QBD 21-Sep-2005
The court was asked whether a crime, which was not an actionable tort, constituted unlawful means for the purposes of the tort of conspiracy to injure by unlawful means. . .
See Also – Mbasogo and Another v Logo Ltd and others CA 5-Apr-2006
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Cited by:
Cited – Total Network Sl v Customs and Excise Commissioners CA 31-Jan-2007
The defendants suspected a carousel VAT fraud. The defendants appealed a finding that there was a viable cause of action alleging a ‘conspiracy where the unlawful means alleged is a common law offence of cheating the public revenue’. The defendants . .
Cited – Iran v The Barakat Galleries Ltd QBD 29-Mar-2007
The claimant government sought the return to it of historical artefacts in the possession of the defendants. The defendant said the claimant could not establish title and that if it could the title under which the claim was made was punitive and not . .
Cited – Total Network Sl v Revenue and Customs HL 12-Mar-2008
The House was asked whether an action for unlawful means conspiracy was available against a participant in a missing trader intra-community, or carousel, fraud. The company appealed a finding of liability saying that the VAT Act and Regulations . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Torts – Other, Jurisdiction
Leading Case
Updated: 31 October 2021; Ref: scu.245561