Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act

Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act
Long title	An Act to define the jurisdiction of United States courts in suits against foreign states, the circumstances in which foreign states are immune from suit and in which execution may not be levied on their property, and for other purposes.
Acronyms (colloquial)	FSIA
Enacted by	the 94th United States Congress
Effective	January 19, 1977
Citations
Public law	94-583
Statutes at Large	90 Stat. 2891
Codification
Titles amended	28
U.S.C. sections created	§1330, §1391(f), §1441(d), §1602–11
Legislative history
	Introduced in the House as H.R. 11315 by Peter W. Rodino (D–NJ) on December 19, 1975; Committee consideration by House Judiciary Committee, Senate Judiciary Committee; Passed the House on September 29, 1976 (Voice vote); Passed the Senate on October 1, 1976 (Voice vote); Signed into law by President Gerald Ford on October 21, 1976;
Major amendments
	Justice Against Sponsors of Terrorism Act
United States Supreme Court cases
	Dames & Moore v. Regan, 453 U.S. 654 (1981); Verlinden BV v. Central Bank of Nigeria, 461 U.S. 480 (1983); First Nat. City Bank v. Banco Para El Comercio Exterior De Cuba, 462 U.S. 611 (1983); Argentine Republic v. Amerada Hess Shipping Corp., 488 U.S. 428 (1989); Republic of Argentina v. Weltover, 504 U.S. 607 (1992); Saudi Arabia v. Nelson, 507 U.S. 349 (1993); Dole Food Co. v. Patrickson, 538 U.S. 468 (2003); Republic of Austria v. Altmann, 541 U.S. 677 (2004); Ministry of Defense and Support for Armed Forces of Islamic Republic of Iran v. Elahi, 546 U.S. 450 (2006); Permanent Mission of India v. City of New York, 551 U.S. 193 (2007); Powerex Corp. v. Reliant Energy Services, Inc., 551 U.S. 224 (2007); Republic of Philippines v. Pimentel, 553 U.S. 851 (2008); Ministry of Defense and Support for Armed Forces of Islamic Republic of Iran v. Elahi, 556 U.S. 366 (2009); Republic of Iraq v. Beaty, 556 U.S. 848 (2009); Samantar v. Yousuf, 560 U.S. 305 (2010); Republic of Argentina v. NML Capital, Ltd., 573 U.S. 134 (2014); OBB Personenverkehr AG v. Sachs, No. 13-1067, 577 U.S. ___ (2015); Bank Markazi v. Peterson, No. 14-770, 578 U.S. ___ (2016); Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela v. Helmerich & Payne Int'l Drilling Co., No. 15-423, 581 U.S. ___ (2017); Rubin v. Islamic Republic of Iran, No. 16-534, 583 U.S. ___ (2018); Republic of Sudan v. Harrison, No. 16-1094, 587 U.S. ___ (2019); Opati v. Republic of Sudan, No. 17-1268, 590 U.S. ___ (2020); Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp, No. 19-351, 592 U.S. ___ (2021); Cassirer v. Thyssen-Bornemisza Collection Foundation, No. 20-1566, 596 U.S. ___ (2022); Türkiye Halk Bankası A.Ş. v. United States, No. 21-1450, 598 U.S. ___ (2023); Republic of Hungary v. Simon, No. 23-867, 604 U.S. ___ (2025); CC/Devas Ltd. v. Antrix Corp, No. 23-1201, 604 U.S. ___ (2025);

The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 (FSIA) is a United States law, codified at Title 28, §§ 1330, 1332, 1391(f), 1441(d), and 1602–1611 of the United States Code, that established criteria as to whether a foreign sovereign state (or its political subdivisions, agencies, or instrumentalities) is immune from the jurisdiction of the United States' federal or state courts. The Act also establishes specific procedures for service of process, attachment of property and execution of judgment in proceedings against a foreign state. The FSIA provides the exclusive basis and means to bring a civil suit against a foreign sovereign in the United States. It was signed into law by United States President Gerald Ford on October 21, 1976.^[6]

^ "This Act shall take effect ninety days after the date of its enactment." Pub. Law. 94-583, §8
^ See House Report No. 94-1487. Sept 9, 1976.
^ See Senate Report No. 94-1310. September 27, 1976. This report concerned the identical Senate bill, S. 3553
^ 122 Cong. Rec. H11587
^ 122 Cong. Rec. S17721
^ Feldman, Mark B. (April 1986). "The United States Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 in Perspective: A Founder's View". The International and Comparative Law Quarterly. 35 (2): 302–319. doi:10.1093/iclqaj/35.2.302. JSTOR 759230.

[1] "This Act shall take effect ninety days after the date of its enactment." Pub. Law. 94-583, §8

[2] See House Report No. 94-1487. Sept 9, 1976.

[3] See Senate Report No. 94-1310. September 27, 1976. This report concerned the identical Senate bill, S. 3553

[4] 122 Cong. Rec. H11587

[5] 122 Cong. Rec. S17721

[feldman-6] Feldman, Mark B. (April 1986). "The United States Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 in Perspective: A Founder's View". The International and Comparative Law Quarterly. 35 (2): 302–319. doi:10.1093/iclqaj/35.2.302. JSTOR 759230.

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