The Historical Development of the Jurisdictional Immunity of Public Ships

本研究考察了国有船舶管辖豁免的历史发展。至于军舰，自1812年“双桅帆船交换案”（Schooner Exchange v.m mcfaddon）的经典裁决以来，一条原则一直得到坚定的维护。（7 Cranch） 116)军舰享有船旗国以外任何国家管辖的绝对豁免。迄今为止，这一原则从未受到任何国家或国际法院的质疑。在过去，这一原则同样适用于军舰以外的国有船只，包括用于普通贸易目的的船只。由于第一次世界大战后各国政府利用其船只进行的商业活动得到了很大发展，因此出现了一个严重的问题，即是否仍应将管辖豁免扩大到从事商业活动的这些政府船只。国有船舶豁免的目的最初是为了维护外国的平等和尊严，而不是使其在与私人船东的竞争中获得经济优势。因此，在第二次世界大战后，在法院的判决和国际律师的观点中，普遍存在一种趋势，即在国有或经营船舶从事普通贸易时，拒绝给予这些船舶豁免。有人认为，公共船舶豁免的发展对国际法下主权豁免一般原则的发展产生了相当大的影响：后者的主要趋势也在第二次世界大战后从经典或绝对理论转向较新的或限制性的理论。

The present research has examined the historical development of jurisdictional immunity of State-owned ships. As to warships, a principle has firmly maintained since the classical decision of the Schooner Exchange v.McFaddon in 1812(11U.S.(7 Cranch) 116) that a warship benefits the absolute immunity from the jurisdiction of any State other than the flag State. The principle has, up to date, never questioned by any national or international court. This principle used to be equally applied, in former times, to State-owned vessels other than warships, including those used for the purpose of ordinary trade. As the commercial activities of governments by using their vessels largely developed after the First World War, a serious question arose whether the jurisdictional immunity should still be extended to such government ships, which were engaged in commerce. The purpose of the immunity of State-owned vessels was, originally, to safeguard the equality and dignity of a foreign State, and not to put it into an economic advantage in a competition with private shipowners. Thus, after the Second World War there is a wide-spread tendency both in the decisions of courts and in the views of international lawyers to deny immunity to State-owned or operated ships when the ships are engaged in ordinary trade. It is submitted that the development of the immunity of public ships has exerted a considerable impact upon that of the general principle of sovereign immunity under international law : the latter's main trend also moved from the classical or absolute theory to the newer or restrictive one after the Second World War.