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2011 (8) TMI 1181 - SC - Indian LawsWhether the appellant Ethiopian Airlines is entitled to sovereign immunity in this case - proceedings before the Consumer Forum are suits - According to the respondent there was gross delay in arrival of the consignment at the destination, which led to deterioration of the goods. the respondent filed a complaint. the State Commission held that the complaint filed by the respondent was not maintainable. The respondent aggrieved by the said order preferred an appeal before the National Consumer Disputes Redressal Commission (`the National Commission'). The National Commission categorically observed in the impugned judgment that Section 86 of the Code of Civil Procedure (for short `C.P.C.') was not applicable since the case in dispute is covered under the provisions of the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 (`the Act'). The National Commission set aside the order passed by the State Commission and remitted it to the State Commission so that the State Commission could decide it afresh in accordance with law. The appellant, aggrieved by the said order, has preferred this appeal on the ground that a foreign State or its instrumentality cannot be proceeded against under the Act without obtaining prior permission from the Central Government. The appellant contends that a foreign State or its instrumentality can legitimately claim sovereign immunity from being proceeded against under the Act in respect of a civil claim. HELD THAT:- Ethiopian Airlines is not entitled to sovereign immunity with respect to a commercial transaction is also consonant with the holdings of other countries' courts and with the growing International Law principle of restrictive immunity. It may be pertinent to mention that the Parliament has recognized this fact while passing the Consumer Protection Act, 1986 and the Carriage by Air Act, 1972. Section 86 was itself, a modification and restriction of the principle of foreign sovereign immunity and thus, by limiting Section 86's applicability, the Parliament through these acts, further narrowed a party's ability to successfully plead foreign sovereign immunity. In the modern era, where there is close interconnection between different countries as far as trade, commerce and business are concerned, the principle of sovereign immunity can no longer be absolute in the way that it much earlier was. The preliminary objection raised by the appellant before the court is devoid of any merit and must be rejected. However, we agree with the findings of the National Commission so far as it has remitted the matter to the State Commission for adjudication. In the facts and circumstance of this case, we direct the State Commission to dispose of the case as expeditiously as possible.
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