State Immunity Act

• Jurisdiction: Singapore
• Coming into Force: 31 December 2014
• Act Number: (Original Enactment: Act 19 of 1979)
• Enactment Date: 26 October 1979
• Record Number: Cap. 313
• Published date: 31 December 2014

State Immunity Act

(CHAPTER 313)

(Original Enactment: Act 19 of 1979)

REVISED EDITION 2014

(31st December 2014)

An Act to make provision with respect to proceedings in Singapore by or against other States, and for purposes connected therewith.

[26th October 1979]

PART 1 PRELIMINARY Short title and application 1.—(1) This Act may be cited as the State Immunity Act. (2) Subject to subsection (3), Part 2 does not apply to proceedings in respect of matters that occurred before the commencement of this Act and, in particular — (a) sections 4(2) and 15(3) do not apply to any prior agreement; and (b) sections 5, 6 and 11 do not apply to any transaction, contract or arbitration agreement, entered into before that date. (3) Section 14 applies to any proceedings instituted after the commencement of this Act. Interpretation 2.—(1) In this Act — “commercial purposes” means purposes of such transactions or activities as are mentioned in section 5(3); “court” includes any tribunal or body exercising judicial functions; “ship” includes hovercraft. (2) In this Act — (a) references to an agreement in sections 4(2) and 15(3) include references to a treaty, convention or other international agreement; and (b) references to entry of appearance and judgments in default of appearance include references to any corresponding procedures.

PART 2 PROCEEDINGS IN SINGAPORE BY OR AGAINST OTHER STATES Immunity from jurisdiction General immunity from jurisdiction 3.—(1) A State is immune from the jurisdiction of the courts of Singapore except as provided in the following provisions of this Part. (2) A court shall give effect to the immunity conferred by this section even though the State does not appear in the proceedings in question. Exceptions from immunity Submission to jurisdiction 4.—(1) A State is not immune as respects proceedings in respect of which it has submitted to the jurisdiction of the courts of Singapore. (2) A State may submit after the dispute giving rise to the proceedings has arisen or by a prior written agreement; but a provision in any agreement that it is to be governed by the law of Singapore is not to be regarded as a submission. (3) A State is deemed to have submitted — (a) if it has instituted the proceedings; or (b) subject to subsections (4) and (5), if it has intervened or taken any step in the proceedings. (4) Subsection (3)(b) does not apply to intervention or any step taken for the purpose only of — (a) claiming immunity; or (b) asserting an interest in property in circumstances such that the State would have been entitled to immunity if the proceedings had been brought against it. (5) Subsection (3)(b) does not apply to any step taken by the State in ignorance of facts entitling it to immunity if those facts could not reasonably have been ascertained and immunity is claimed as soon as reasonably practicable. (6) A submission in respect of any proceedings extends to any appeal but not to any counterclaim unless it arises out of the same legal relationship or facts as the claim. (7) The head of a State’s diplomatic mission in Singapore, or the person for the time being performing his functions, shall be deemed to have authority to submit on behalf of the State in respect of any proceedings; and any person who has entered into a contract on behalf of and with the authority of a State shall be deemed to have authority to submit on its behalf in respect of proceedings arising out of the contract. Commercial transactions and contracts to be performed in Singapore 5.—(1) A State is not immune as respects proceedings relating to — (a) a commercial transaction entered into by the State; or (b) an obligation of the State which by virtue of a contract (whether a commercial transaction or not) falls to be performed wholly or partly in Singapore, but this subsection does not apply to a contract of employment between a State and an individual. (2) This section does not apply if the parties to the dispute are States or have otherwise agreed in writing; and subsection (1)(b) does not apply if the contract (not being a commercial transaction) was made in the territory of the State concerned and the obligation in question is governed by its administrative law. (3) In this section, “commercial transaction” means — (a) any contract for the supply of goods or services; (b) any loan or other transaction for the provision of finance and any guarantee or indemnity in respect of any such transaction or of any other financial obligation; and (c) any other transaction or activity (whether of a commercial, industrial, financial, professional or other similar character) into which a State enters or in which it engages otherwise than in the exercise of sovereign authority. Contracts of employment 6.—(1) A State is not immune as respects proceedings relating to a contract of employment between the State and an individual where the contract was made in Singapore or the work is to be wholly or partly performed in Singapore. (2) Subject to subsections (3) and (4), this section does not apply if — (a) at the time when the proceedings are brought the individual is a national of the State concerned; (b) at the time when the contract was made the individual was neither a citizen of Singapore nor habitually resident in Singapore; or (c) the parties to the contract have otherwise agreed in writing. (3) Where the work is for an office, agency or establishment maintained by the State in Singapore for commercial purposes, subsection (2)(a) and (b) does not exclude the application of this section unless the individual was, at the time when the contract was made, habitually resident in that State. (4) Subsection (2)(c) does not exclude the application of this section where the law of Singapore requires the proceedings to be brought before a court in Singapore. (5) In this section, “proceedings relating to a contract of employment” includes proceedings between the parties to such a contract in respect of any statutory rights or duties to which they are entitled or subject as employer or employee. Personal injuries and damage to property 7. A State is not immune as respects proceedings in respect of — (a) death or personal injury; or (b) damage to or loss of tangible property, caused by an act or omission in Singapore. Ownership, possession and use of property 8.—(1) A State is not immune as respects proceedings relating to — (a) any interest of the State in, or its possession or use of, immovable property in Singapore; or (b) any obligation of the State arising out of its interest in, or its possession or use of, any such property. (2) A State is not immune as respects proceedings relating to any interest of the State in movable or immovable property, being an interest arising by way of succession, gift or bona vacantia. (3) The fact that a State has or claims an interest in any property shall not preclude any court from exercising in respect of it any jurisdiction relating to the estates of deceased persons or mentally disordered persons or to insolvency, the winding up of companies or the administration of trusts. [21/2008] (4) A court may entertain proceedings against a person other than a State notwithstanding that the proceedings relate to property — (a) which is in the possession or control of a State; or (b) in which a State claims an interest, if the State would not have been immune had the proceedings been brought against it or, in a case within paragraph (b), if the claim is neither admitted nor supported by prima facie evidence. Patents, trade marks, etc. 9. A State is not immune as respects proceedings relating to — (a) any patent, trade mark or design belonging to the State and registered or protected in Singapore or for which the State has applied in Singapore; (b) an alleged infringement by the State in Singapore of any patent, trade mark, design or copyright; or (c) the right to use a trade or business name in Singapore. Membership of bodies corporate, etc. 10.—(1) A State is not immune as respects proceedings relating to its membership of a body corporate, an unincorporated body or a partnership which — (a) has members other than States; and (b) is incorporated or constituted under the law of Singapore or is controlled from or has its principal place of business in Singapore, being proceedings arising between the State and the body or its other members or, as the case may be, between the State and the other partners. (2) This section does not apply if provision to the contrary has been made by an agreement in writing between the parties to the dispute or by the constitution or other instrument establishing or regulating the body or partnership in question. Arbitrations 11.—(1) Where a State has agreed in writing to submit a dispute which has arisen, or may arise, to arbitration, the State is not immune as respects proceedings in the courts in Singapore which relate to the arbitration. (2) This section has effect subject to any contrary provision in the arbitration agreement and does not apply to any arbitration agreement between States. Ships used for commercial purposes 12.—(1) This section applies to — (a) Admiralty proceedings; and (b) proceedings on any claim which could be made the subject of Admiralty proceedings. (2) A State is not immune as respects — (a) an action in rem against a ship belonging to that State; or (b) an action in personam for enforcing a claim in connection with such a ship, if, at the time when the cause of action arose, the ship was in use or intended for use for commercial purposes. (3) Where an action in rem is brought against a ship belonging to a State for enforcing a claim in connection with another ship belonging to that State, subsection (2)(a) does not apply as respects the first‑mentioned ship unless, at the time when the cause of action relating to the other ship arose, both ships were in use or intended for use for commercial purposes. (4) A State is not immune as respects — (a) an action in rem against a cargo belonging to that State if both the cargo and the ship carrying it were, at the time when the cause of action arose, ...