Government of the Russian Federation v Commonwealth of Australia

The High Court of Australia considered a dispute between the Government of the Russian Federation and the Commonwealth of Australia concerning the latter's purported seizure of Russian state property located in Australia. The Russian Federation sought declarations that its property was immune from seizure under international law and Australian domestic law.

The central legal issues before the Court were whether the Commonwealth's actions constituted an unlawful interference with Russian state property, and whether such property was entitled to immunity from seizure under the principles of sovereign immunity as recognised in Australian law. This involved an examination of the scope and application of the Foreign States Immunities Act 1985 (Cth) and customary international law principles governing sovereign immunity.

The Court ultimately held that the Commonwealth's actions were not unlawful and that the property in question was not immune from seizure. The reasoning focused on the interpretation of the Foreign States Immunities Act 1985, particularly provisions relating to the waiver of immunity and the nature of the property. The Court determined that the circumstances of the case did not support an assertion of immunity, distinguishing the present situation from circumstances where immunity would ordinarily apply. The Court's decision affirmed that while sovereign immunity is a recognised principle, its application is subject to statutory provisions and specific factual circumstances.