Problem
Abuse of state immunity
Other Names:
Misuse of government immunityOfficial abuse of crown jurisdictional immunity
Abuse of sovereignty
Nature:
There are two different legal approaches to the state immunity: restrictive, which grants immunity only to the public acts of states, and absolutist rule, which says that immunity must also be afforded to their private acts, such as trading contracts and ownership of property.
Incidence:
In 1991, the UK High Court ruled that the government can breach its own undertakings to the courts without fear of legal sanction because ministers and officials have Crown immunity against contempt proceedings. The ruling was in respect of the deportation of an asylum-seeker for whom an legal undertaking not to forcibly repatriate had previously been made. The judge said that if the Crown were not immune, and Crown undertakings constituted no more than "unenforceable assurances", the Home Office would have been guilty of contempt.
Broader Problems:
Unethical practices of governmentMisconduct in elected public office Narrower Problems:
Unregulated police immunityAbuse of parliamentary immunityAbuse of immunity of heads of stateCovert intelligence agency operations Subject(s):
Government → DiplomacyGovernment → Government
Government → Nation state
Law → Judiciary
Societal Problems → Maltreatment
Related UN Sustainable Development Goals:
Problem Type:
D: Detailed problems Date of last update
14.05.2019 – 16:55 CEST