Sovereign Immunity

Sovereign immunity in the law of the sea shields warships and ships owned or operated by a state on government non-commercial service from the enforcement jurisdiction of other states. UNCLOS Article 32 preserves the immunities of warships and other government ships operated for non-commercial purposes in the territorial sea. On the high seas, Article 95 grants warships complete immunity from any jurisdiction other than that of the flag state, and Article 96 extends the same immunity to government ships in non-commercial service. These provisions do not exempt such vessels from the obligation to comply with coastal-state laws; a non-complying warship may be required to leave the territorial sea under Article 30.