Abstract
In Buttes Gas and Oil Co. v Hammer (No. 3) the House of Lords recognized a general principle that the English courts will not adjudicate upon the transactions of foreign states. This article traces the development of this non-justiciability principle and examines recent decisions that have expanded its potential scope. It is argued that the principle as currently applied encroaches too far upon the rights of litigants to a judicial determination and that non-justiciability should be limited to cases in which the court is unable to determine the issue before it according to law.
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