The Act of State Doctrine

A foreign government nationalises a factory inside its own territory, without paying the owner. Years later a machine from that factory is sold in Mumbai and the original owner sues the buyer, arguing the nationalisation was illegal and he still owns the machine. Should an Indian court decide whether another country's government acted lawfully inside its own borders? The Act of State doctrine says, in general, no: courts are reluctant to sit in judgment on the sovereign acts of a foreign State done in its own territory.

In two minutes

The Act of State doctrine is a rule of judicial restraint under which a court will not examine the validity of a foreign State's sovereign acts done within its own territory; it is subject to exceptions, notably public policy and grave breaches of international law.

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