B.A.M. v Republic of Indonesia

Brussels Labour Court of Appeals, B.A.M. v Republic of Indonesia, Nr. 2018/AB/868, 2 November 2021

The plaintiff, a former member of the service staff at the Indonesian embassy in Brussels, was challenging his dismissal. Affirming the appealed judgment, the Brussels Labour Court of Appeals upheld Indonesia’s State immunity from jurisdiction. With a view to determining the applicable rules of customary international law, the Court relied upon the United Nations Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Property. More specifically, it focused on Article 11(2)(e), which maintains the immunity where the employee is a national of the employer State – the plaintiff had indeed Indonesian citizenship. The Court considered that the limitation in Article 11(2)(e), that sets immunity aside where the employee has its permanent residence in the State of the forum, does not reflect an existing rule of customary international law. The Court went on to add that, in any event, the plaintiff had failed to demonstrate a permanent residence in Belgium at the time when the proceedings were instituted.


United States of America v P.V.N.

Supreme Court, United States of America v P.V.N., Nr. S.15.0051.N/2, 4 March 2019

The Belgian Supreme Court examines a judgement of the Brussels Labour Court of Appeal. The case concerns a dispute involving an employment contract between the USA and a private person, P.V.N., who worked for the US embassy in Belgium and demanded compensation after being dismissed in 2010.

The Supreme Court holds that, according to international customary law and, as provided by Article 11(1) of the 2004 Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and their Property, a foreign state can only invoke immunity from jurisdiction in the context of employment disputes when a number of criteria are met, including that a person must be appointed for the performance of certain acts performed in the exercise of public authority (‘acta jure imperii’).

The Brussels Court of Appeal previously established that, while the defendant performed certain preparatory acts with regard to acts involving the exercise of public authority, he did not have the authority to sign and bind the USA. Consequently, such acts could not of themselves be considered to entail the exercise of public authority for which immunity from jurisdiction can be invoked. The Supreme Court confirms that the judgement of the Court of Appeal was properly motivated.


R.B. v Kingdom of Morocco

Antwerp Labour Court of Appeal, R.B. v Kingdom of Morocco, Nr. 2015/AA/536, 17 March 2017

R.B., a person of Belgian-Moroccan nationality, who used to work for the Moroccan Consulate-General in Belgium, was seeking the payment of severance pay and of overdue salary after his mandate was terminated.

Notwithstanding plaintiff’s suggestion that he was merely engaged in simple administrative tasks, the Antwerp Labour Court held that the mandate of the plaintiff related to ‘acta jure imperii’, in particular as his tasks could be qualified as consular functions in the sense of Article 5(e) of the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations of 1963, for which the state of Morocco was entitled to immunity from jurisdiction. Moreover, the plaintiff could not prove the existence of an employment contract instead of a statutory employment. For the sake of completeness, the Court tested Morocco’s state immunity against the 2004 UN Convention on Jurisdictional Immunities of States and their Property, which it considered to reflect customary international law, and upheld the immunity of Morocco under several of the exceptions contained in Article 11(2) of that treaty relating to employment contracts.