Marcos and Associates v Chambre d'Accusation, Geneva
| Date | 01 juillet 1987 |
| Court | Federal Tribunal (Switzerland) |
State immunity Head of State's immunity Former Head of State Whether former Head of State entitled to immunity from the jurisdiction of courts in other States Action by new government to recover property allegedly misappropriated by former Head of State
Governments Change of government Effects Action by new government to recover property allegedly misappropriated by former Head of State The law of Switzerland
Summary: The facts:Following the removal of Mr Ferdinand Marcos as President of the Republic of the Philippines, the new Government of the Philippines requested the Swiss authorities to assist with the recovery of the money which Mr Marcos and his associates had allegedly acquired whilst in office. The request for mutual assistance resulted in the blocking, by order of the Swiss courts, of various assets deposited in Switzerland by Mr Marcos and persons associated with him. Mr Marcos and others challenged the order by means of an administrative law appeal to the Federal Tribunal. The appellants maintained that Mr Marcos and his family were entitled to immunity from the jurisdiction of the Swiss courts.
Held:The appeal was dismissed. The immunity enjoyed by a foreign Head of State did not apply once he was no longer in office. Such personal immunity was the reflection of the immunity enjoyed by a foreign State when it acted in the exercise of its sovereign powers. It was a privilege in favour of office bearers performing functions in the interests of the State and not in favour of individuals, even if they had once held the highest public office in the foreign State concerned.
The following is the text of the relevant part of the judgment of the Court:
By notes verbales of 18 April 1986 (informal request) and 25 April 1986 (formal request), the Embassy of the Republic of the Philippines in Switzerland communicated to the Federal Office of Police a request for international mutual assistance in criminal matters drawn up on 7 April 1986 by the Solicitor-General of that State in Manila. This dmarche was made within the framework of an enquiry instituted at the initiative of the Solicitor-General by the Presidential Commission on Good Government which the President of the Republic, Corazon Aquino, established by decree of 28 February 1986 immediately after the collapse of the regime of Ferdinand Marcos, who had governed the country since 1966. Pursuant to Article 2 of that decree, the Presidential Commission was entrusted as a matter of priority with the task of assisting the new Head of State to recover the vast fortune illegally acquired in the course of the exercise of their...
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