Immunity from Execution of Military and Cultural Goods

Recent years have seen numerous attempts  to seize State assets held outside a State's national territory to satisfy debts owed by the State to private persons. Assets targeted have included military and cultural goods (from visiting naval vessels to paintings on loan to foreign museums). But such attempts have generally been unsuccessful, even when debtors have relied on widely-worded waivers of immunity. This presentation will examine why.

 

Matthew Happold is Professor of Public International Law at the University of Luxembourg, having previous taught at several universities in the United Kingdom. He is a member of the Commission consultative des droits de l'homme, Luxembourg's national human rights institution, and practices as a barrister from 3 Hare Court, London. He is presently a Visiting Fellow at the Lauterpacht Institute for International law at Cambridge University.
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The PIL Discussion Group hosts a weekly speaker event and light lunch and is a key focal point for PIL@Oxford. Topics involve contemporary and challenging issues in international law. Speakers include distinguished international law practitioners, academics, and legal advisers from around the world.

 

The group typically meets each Thursday during Oxford terms in The Old Library, All Souls College, with lunch commencing at 12:30. The speaker will commence at 12:45 and speak for about forty minutes, allowing about twenty five minutes for questions and discussion. The meeting should conclude before 2:00. Practitioners, academics and students from within and outside the University of Oxford are all welcome. No RSVP is necessary. Join the PIL Email List to receive information about the PIL Discussion Group meetings, as well as other PIL@Oxford news.

 

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The discussion group's meetings are part of the programme of the British Branch of the International Law Association and are supported by the Law Faculty and Oxford University Press.