Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act

I. Introduction

This guide provides an overview of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 (FSIA).1 It is intended as a practical introduction for those who have little knowledge of or experience with the statute as interpreted and applied in U.S. courts. The focus is on the basic legal issues faced by U.S. courts in cases arising under the statute.

Following this brief Introduction, the guide discusses the statute’s purpose and scope of application. It reviews the jurisdictional, procedural, and evidentiary questions most likely to arise at the outset of litigation, and it discusses the entities entitled to immunity (in particular the distinctions between a “foreign state,” its “political subdivisions,” and its “agencies and instrumentalities”). It then provides an introductory description of the specific exceptions to immunity as well as the statutory regime applicable to execution of judgments and attachment of assets. The Addendum in Part VII discusses the terrorism exception, which was recently revised by Congress.

The FSIA governs all litigation in both state and federal courts