Cairn Energy arbitration case: Riders to invoking 'sovereign immunity'

Earlier this month, a French court permitted Cairn Energy to freeze several India-owned assets in Paris for executing the $1.2-billion international arbitral award in the decade-long tax dispute

For India to invoke “sovereign” or “state” immunity to safeguard its foreign assets, which are under threat of getting seized in the intensifying legal battle with Cairn Energy, may come with several riders.

Experts point out that the Indian government has to first satisfy the French court that the properties or assets that are under consideration are being used to dispense the state’s sovereign functions. As a result, assets such as embassy buildings cannot be attached.

However, for properties ow­ned by the Indian state that are used for commercial purposes, the “state immunity” defence will not be available, said Prabhash