Development of the Doctrine of Sovereign Immunity in England and India

Abstract

Sovereign immunity is essentially “A government’s immunity from being sued in its own courts without its consent." Sovereign immunity has been enshrined under the British Common Law principle of rex non potest peccare i.e. the king can do no wrong. In the England the growth of the doctrine of sovereign immunity has been influenced by the immunity of the local sovereign. Sovereign immunity as a concept got embedded in Indian legal system with the arrival of the British. When the British colonized India, they brought along with them new ideas, ideologies, culture and laws. One of these many new introductions to our nation was the Doctrine of Sovereign Immunity.

Keywords: Sovereign immunity, History of the Doctrine of Sovereign Immunity, king can do no wrong, Government Contracts and Sovereign Immunity, Article 19(1) (g)