KASSIS v Republic of Lebanon (No.2)

The applicant, Kassis, sought to enforce a judgment obtained in the Supreme Court of New South Wales against the Republic of Lebanon. The dispute concerned the enforceability of this judgment, which arose from a claim for damages for personal injury sustained by Kassis while he was a member of the Lebanese armed forces. The application for enforcement was heard in the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The primary legal issue before the Court was whether the Republic of Lebanon was entitled to claim sovereign immunity from execution in Australia in respect of the judgment obtained by Kassis. This involved considering the scope of the *Foreign States Immunities Act 1985* (Cth) and whether any exceptions to sovereign immunity applied in this context. Specifically, the Court had to determine if the judgment debt was in respect of a commercial transaction or an act done in the course of commercial activity, which would ordinarily disentitle a foreign state from claiming immunity.

Justice Raphael reasoned that the claim for damages for personal injury sustained by Kassis while serving in the Lebanese armed forces did not arise from a commercial transaction or an act done in the course of commercial activity. The Court found that Kassis's service in the armed forces was an act of state, not a commercial activity. Therefore, the Republic of Lebanon was entitled to sovereign immunity from execution in Australia. The Court dismissed Kassis's application for leave to enforce the judgment.