The Bank of England was holding, in safe custody for the governments of the US, France and the UK, bars of gold which had been wrongly removed by German troops from a French bank and later captured by the allied armies in Germany during the Second World War. The French company which had deposited the gold with the French bank brought proceedings against the Bank of England claiming redelivery of the gold bars. The governments of the US and France applied to have the proceedings stayed on the ground of state immunity.
Held: The action in respect of 51 bars was stayed because the United States Government had deposited them and had the right to immediate possession of them. However, a further 13 bars were part of a pool of the Bank of England and so were in a form of an unallocated account. The House of Lords allowed the case to continue in respect of the 13 bars because the bank by its own act of mixing the 13 bars with the pool put an end to the bailment and the protective umbrella of immunity. The foreign governments had a sufficient proprietary interest in the gold bars to bring the case within the second principle stated by Lord Atkin in the Cristina.
Lord Radcliffe in contrast at p 616 treated it as a suit which might affect a sovereign’s interest in property under the head of proceedings which ‘amount in one way or another to a suit against the sovereign’
Earl Jowitt said that ‘the English law has never worked out a completely logical and exhaustive definition of ‘possession’
Lord Porter referred to an action ‘impleading the two governments or affecting their rights’ and to the foreign governments being ‘implicated or their rights invaded’,
Judges:
Earl Jowitt, Lord Radcliffe, Lord Tucker, Lord Porter
Citations:
[1952] AC 582
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Compania Naviera Vascongado v Steamship ‘Cristina’ HL 1938
A state-owned ship that was used for public purposes could not be made the subject of proceedings in rem. Lord Atkin described the absolute immunity of a sovereign of a foreign state within this jurisdiction: ‘The foundation for the application to . .
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.
Banking, International
Updated: 14 June 2022; Ref: scu.634298