7.3 Sovereign immunity : One of the underlying principles of international law has been the doctrine of sovereign equality and the consequence that one sovereign cannot exercise authority over another. The practical application of the doctrine means that the many activities carried out by a foreign state cannot be the subject of municipal court proceedings. For example, in Kuwait Airways Corporation v Iraqi Airways

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the de jure government of Poland. On 28 June 1945 the communist provisional government took effective control of the country and was recognised as the de jure government on 5 July. The case concerned the effect of executive action taken by the Polish government in exile on 3 July. The House of Lords emphasised the general principle of retroactivity which would normally mean that all acts of the communist government would be given effect to as from 28 June. However the acts of the government in exile with respect to issues under their control remained effective up until the withdrawal of recognition on 5 July. Therefore the action taken by the government in exile on 3 July would be effective. A similar result obtained in Civil Air Transport Inc v Central Air Transport Corporation (1953).55