The sovereign immunity of the member states of a federation

This article examines the sovereign immunity of the member states of federations. In different federations these subnational governments may be known as states, ² provinces, ³ Länder, ⁴ cantons, ⁵ and several other names. ⁶ The first part of this article discusses the issue of immunity in relation to civil proceedings, while the second part examines immunity in relation to criminal proceedings. The approach adopted by various judicial decisions, statutes and treaties will be considered. The relevant law of each jurisdiction is considered separately.