Sovereign immunity — Agencies and instrumentalities of foreign States — Waiver of immunity under Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act 1976 — Whether instrumentality of People's Republic of China waived immunity — Whether filing “Application for a Certificate of Financial Responsibility” and appointing agent for service of process in United States under Federal Water Pollution Control Act and Federal Maritime Commission Regulations constitutes waiver — Whether immunity waived by accepting bills of lading containing New York choice of forum clause — The law of the United States

Sovereign immunity — State-owned corporations — Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act 1976 — Procedural requirements — Due process notions of minimal contact between defendant State and forum — Whether incorporated in the Act — The law of the United States

Sovereign immunity — State-owned corporations — Amenability to suit in United States courts — Whether jury trial available — Interpretation of Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act 1976 — Whether compatible with United States Constitution — Sovereign immunity at common law — Theoretical basis — The law of the United States

Sovereign immunity — State-owned corporations — Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act 1976 — Extent of personal jurisdiction — Requirement of “minimum contacts” between defendant and forum — Procedure — Service of process — Service upon Consul-General — The law of the United States

Sovereign immunity — Foreign States — Assassination of former Chilean government official in United States — Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act 1976, Section 1605 (a) (5) — Whether Chilean Government amenable to suit in United States courts for allegedly tortious activities concerning assassination — Whether exception to immunity for certain tortious acts of a foreign State and its officials or employees limited to “private” as opposed to “public” or “governmental” tortious acts — Whether Chile entitled to claim immunity under Section 1605 (a) (5) (A) — Whether allegedly tortious activities were “discretionary acts” — Whether Chile's activities were public activities within Chile — Whether entitled to immunity under act of State doctrine — The law of the United States

Sovereign immunity — State-owned corporations — Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act 1976 — Personal jurisdiction — Commercial activity — Requirement of connection between commercial activity and United States — Contact between foreign State and foreign corporation — Whether fact that letter of credit is payable through New York bank a sufficient connection — Waiver of immunity — Whether agreement to submit dispute to arbitration in Paris a waiver of immunity before United States courts — Subject matter jurisdiction — Whether Federal courts have subject matter jurisdiction in case between foreigners — The law of the United States

Sovereign immunity — Foreign States and State-owned agencies — Procedure — Method of serving process upon foreign State and State-owned agencies — Normal methods of service rendered impossible by termination of diplomatic relations — Whether courts entitled to fashion substitute methods of service — The law of the United States

Sovereign immunity — Public vessels — Admiralty proceedings — Whether foreign State immune from having to give counter-security in action — Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act 1976 — Purpose and scope — Extent to which Act equates actions against foreign States with actions against the United States — The law of the United States

Sovereign immunity — Foreign State — Nature of sovereign immunity — Plea which goes to subject matter jurisdiction — Whether court required to consider plea entered after default judgment — Waiver — Agreement by foreign State to indemnify State of the forum — Whether a waiver of immunity — Commercial activity — Whether agreement between States for training military personnel a commercial activity — Immunity from tort claims — The law of the United States

Sovereign immunity — Foreign States and State-owned corporations — Attachment and execution — Pre-judgment attachment of property belonging to foreign State or its agencies and instrumentalities — Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act 1976 — Whether express waiver of immunity required for pre-judgment attachment — Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations and Consular Rights, 1955, between United States and Iran — Whether amounting to waiver — Iranian Assets Control Regulations — Scope and nature — The law of the United States

Sovereign immunity — Foreign State-owned corporations — Amenability to suit in United States courts — Whether jury trial available — Whether Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act 1976 the sole basis for jurisdiction over such corporations — Compatibility with United States Constitution — Theoretical basis of sovereign immunity — Restrictive theory — Whether based on notion of implied submission to jurisdiction — The law of the United States

Sovereign immunity — Foreign State-owned corporation — Restrictive theory of sovereign immunity — Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act 1976 — Act a codification of the ‘Tate Letter’ — National airline — Passenger injured in foreign State while awaiting return flight to United States — Whether claim arising in connection with a commercial activity carried on in the United States — The law of the United States

Sovereign immunity — Foreign State — Nationalization of insurance companies' assets without compensation — Action for damages against nationalizing State in United States courts — Whether nationalizing State entitled to sovereign immunity — Whether case concerning commercial activities — Waiver — Treaty of Amity, Economic Relations and Consular Rights, 1955, between United States and Iran — Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act 1976 — Whether act of State doctrine applicable

State responsibility — For taking of, or interference with, property — Applicable principles of international law — Whether duty to pay prompt, adequate and effective compensation — Local remedies rule — Application when attempt to exhaust local remedies would be futile

International law in general — Relation to municipal law — Treaties — Self-executing treaties — When individual has right to sue in municipal court for violation of treaty or customary international law

Treaties — Operation and enforcement — Effect on third parties — Whether conferring directly enforceable rights upon individuals — The law of the United States

Sovereign immunity — Foreign State and central bank — Restrictive theory of sovereign immunity — Commercial activity — Requirement that commercial activity have direct effect in the United States — Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act 1976 — Jurisdiction of United States courts — Requirement of minimum jurisdictional contacts — The law of the United States

Sovereign immunity — Foreign State and State-owned corporations — Commercial activity — Meaning and scope — Whether relating to specific act of which complaint made or normal activity of defendant — Procedure — Removal of action against foreign State to Federal court — Whether involving removal of actions against co-defendants — Act of State doctrine — Refusal of entry by immigration officials — Deportation — Whether acts of State — Whether doctrine precludes judicial inquiry into commercial consequences flowing from those acts — The law of the United States

Sovereign immunity — Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act 1976 — Whether Act capable of conferring subject matter jurisdiction in a case pending on date Act entered into force — The law of the United States

Sovereign immunity — Foreign State and central bank — Jurisdiction — Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act 1976 — Whether actions of Nigeria and its central bank in amending letters of credit payable in the United States constituted acts having a ‘direct effect’ in the United States — Meaning of ‘direct effect’ — Due process standards of minimum jurisdictional contacts — The law of the United States

Sovereign immunity — Foreign government agency — Purchase of foodstuffs — Whether commercial activity — Whether carried on in the United States — Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act 1976 — Personal jurisdiction — Minimum jurisdictional contacts — The law of the United States

Sovereign immunity — Foreign States and State-owned corporations — Immunity from pre-judgment attachment of property — Waiver — Requirement that waiver of immunity be express — Whether United States-Iran Treaty of Amity, 1955, constitutes waiver of immunity from pre-judgment attachment — Effect of Presidential Order blocking Iranian assets — Whether depriving Iran of immunity from pre-judgment attachment — Nature of sovereign immunity — Whether a right or merely a privilege accorded by one State to another — The law of the United States

Sovereign immunity — Foreign States and State-owned enterprises — Action for breach of contract — Sovereign immunity — Waiver — Need to establish personal jurisdiction — Whether waiver of immunity amounts to implied submission to jurisdiction — Arbitration clause — Commercial activities provisions of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act 1976 — Relationship between substantive and procedural questions — The law of the United States