(Appeals Chamber of the International Criminal Tribunal for the Former Yugoslavia) The acts of state officials acting in that capacity are not attributable to them personally but only to the state: ‘Such officials are mere instruments of a state and their official action can only be attributed to the state. They cannot be the subject of sanctions or penalties for conduct that is not private but undertaken on behalf of a state. In other words, state officials cannot suffer the consequences of wrongful acts which are not attributable to them personally but to the state on whose behalf they act: they enjoy so-called ‘functional immunity’. This is a well-established rule of customary international law going back to the 18th and 19th centuries, restated many times since.’
Citations:
(1997) 110 ILR 607
Cited by:
Cited – Jones v Ministry of Interior for the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and others HL 14-Jun-2006
The claimants said that they had been tortured by Saudi police when arrested on false charges. They sought damages, and appealed against an order denying jurisdiction over the defendants. They said that the allegation of torture allowed an exception . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
International, Crime
Updated: 21 July 2022; Ref: scu.242891