§ Mr. McNamaraTo ask the Solicitor-General in how many Northern Ireland conflict-related cases sovereign immunity has been sought since 1980; what reasons were given in each case; and what rulings were subsequently made by each court or tribunal. [53512]
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§ The Solicitor-General[holding answer 2 May 2002]: From the research that has been possible in the time available, I am aware of three cases in which a claim of sovereign immunity has been made or intimated in Northern Ireland conflict-related cases.
The cases are:
McElhinney v. Williams and Secretary of State for Northern Ireland, in which proceedings were commenced in the Republic against the United Kingdom Government by a claimant who claimed in respect of an alleged shooting incident at the border. The decision of the Irish Supreme Court is reported at [1996] ILRM 275, and the Court explains in detail the basis of sovereign immunity upon which it upheld the order striking out the claim.Bridget McGovern v. Ministry of Defence (in the early 1990s, unreported), in which the claimant claimed in the Republic in respect of damage to her property caused by an explosion at the border. Her claim was struck out by the Irish Court on grounds of sovereign immunity. Ms McGovern subsequently issued proceedings in the Courts of Northern Ireland and recovered damage for her loss.Adams v. Secretary of. State for Northern Ireland and George Mitchell (1998 unreported). Mr. Gerry Adams sought judicial review in the Court of the Republic in respect of the decision of the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland to exclude Sinn Fein at that stage from the peace negotiations. A claim for sovereign immunity was to be made but the claim was not pursued to a substantive hearing, probably because the negotiations returned to Northern Ireland.Sovereign immunity is an elementary principle of international law which states that in general an independent sovereign state may not be sued in the courts of a foreign state against its will and without its consent. One factor of relevance is which is the most convenient forum for the claim to be heard, and it is noteworthy from the McGovern case that Ms McGovern was able successfully to pursue her claim in the Courts of Northern Ireland.