The Princes had applied to the English Court for immunity against ongoing commerical litigation between Mr Faisal Almhairat and Apex Global Management. Citing state immunity and diplomatic legislation, they argued that as members of the Saudi Royal Household, they could not be sued.
'Narrow' Interpretation
As part of their appeal to the Court of Appeal, the Princes claimed that Mr Justice Vos had interpreted “members of his family performing part of his household” too narrowly. They argued that the meaning of this phrase should extend to those who share in and assist a sovereign with the exercise of royal, constitutional and representational functions. They claimed that Mr Justice Vos was wrong to conclude, from the evidence before him, that the Princes failed to come within the meaning of that phrase as a matter of fact. However Mr Justice Vos and the Court of Appeal rejected claims that HRH Prince Mishal Bin Abdulziz Al Saud (Prince Mishal) and HRH Prince Abdulaziz Bin Mishal Bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (Prince Abdulaziz) were 'members of the family, forming part of the household' of the King of Saudi Arabia - which would have allowed them to claim sovereign immunity.
Commercial activities
The Judge also concluded that even if the Princes had immunity it would not protect them in this case because it would be subject to the commercial activities exception – this was because, on the Judge’s construction of the relevant laws, the commercial exception to sovereign immunity was not restricted to activities carried out “in the receiving state”.
The Court of Appeal found that Mr Justice Vos did not err in finding that the Princes failed to come within the meaning of the phrase ‘member of his family forming part of this household.’ Howard KennedyFsi represented Mr Almhairat and Apex Global Management with barristers Robert Howe QC and Shaheed Fatima of Blackstone Chambers whilst Irwin Mitchell represented the Princes in the Court of Appeal with barristers Alun Jones QC and Rosa Zaffuto.
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