Symposium : State Immunity in Civil Proceedings for Serious Violations of Human Rights

• Novogrodsky, Noah Benjamin

Abstract

This article assesses the implications of the Canadian case of <it>Bouzari v. Islamic Republic of Iran</it> in which sovereign immunity barred recovery against a foreign state for acts of torture. Part 2 describes the case and the courts' rejection of arguments centred on the hierarchy of <it>jus cogens</it> norms, implied waiver and common law principles. Part 3 evaluates parallel developments in the United States and demonstrates the commonalities and differences associated with efforts to overcome immunity in the two countries. Part 4 examines potential amendments to Canada's State Immunity Act with a view to balancing considerations of comity with a just and workable means of holding states accountable for grave human rights abuses.