Republic of Sudan v. Harrison
U.S. Supreme Court · decided March 26, 2019 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Decided
- March 26, 2019
- Term
- October Term 2018
- Vote
- 8–1
- Majority author
- Justice Alito
- Issue area
- Economic Activity
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice ALITO delivered the opinion of the Court. This case concerns the requirements applicable to a particular method of serving civil process on a foreign state. Under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 (FSIA), a foreign state may be served by means of a mailing that is "addressed and dispatched ... to the head of the ministry of foreign affairs of the foreign state concerned." 28 U.S.C. § 1608(a)(3). The question now before us is whether this provision is satisfied when a service packet that names the foreign minister is mailed to the foreign state's embassy in the United States. We hold that it is not. Most naturally read, § 1608(a)(3) requires that a mailing be sent directly to the foreign minister's office in the minister's home country. I A Under the FSIA, a foreign state is immune from the jurisdiction of courts in this country unless one of several enumerated exceptions to immunity applies. 28 U.S.C. §§ 1604, 1605 - 1607. If a suit falls within one of these exceptions, the FSIA provides subject-matter jurisdiction in federal district courts. § 1330(a). The FSIA also provides for personal jurisdiction "where service has been made under section 1608." § 1330(b). Section 1608(a) governs service of process on "a foreign state or political subdivision of a foreign state." § 1608(a) ; Fed. Rule Civ. Proc. 4(j)(1). In particular, it sets out in hierarchical order…
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