The Significance of China's Views on the Jus Cogens Exception to Foreign Government Official Immunity by Julian KuCall Number: 26 Duke J. of Comp. & Int’l L. 503
Publication Date: 2016
The "rise of China" has already become cliche among international relations scholars and policy analysts. Yet few disagree that the People's Republic of China's economic, military, and political power has reached
new heights in recent years.' It is, therefore, surprising that relatively few international law scholars have studied whether and, if so how, the "rise of China" is affecting the development and growth of international law.
Take, for example, the application of the doctrine of sovereign immunity to foreign government officials-an area of substantial ferment and change. Numerous international authorities have suggested that, under
international law, government officials cannot invoke the protections of sovereign immunity for acts that violate jus cogens norms. The United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit recently relied on this
international law trend, holding that the "common law of sovereign
immunity" does not shield former government officials accused of acts
violating jus cogens from civil lawsuits. But although the Fourth Circuit
cited decisions from the United Kingdom and Italy to support its holding,
it did not cite China's views. This failure, while understandable, suggests
that the impact of China's perspective on this key question of international
law remains small.
This Essay uses the Fourth Circuit's holding as an opportunity to consider China's impact on the development of a complex and important doctrine of international law.