Thailand’s Lawsuit Against the United States for Causing COVID-19

Abstract

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) presents various questions concerning international law and states’ domestic laws affected by this global pandemic. One of the legal issues amid COVID-19 pandemic is the state immunity principle. Many lawsuits against foreign states have challenged the state immunity principle amid the COVID-19 pandemic. In Thailand, the Chiangmai Provincial Court (court) addressed in its judgement that it did not have jurisdiction to adjudicate the compensation for COVID-19 pandemic’s damages dispute between a Thai restaurant owner and the United States (US). Notwithstanding surrounding controversies over COVID-19 pandemic, the court considered the motion denied. The main implication of the judgement is that Thailand accepted the state immunity principle under customary international law. This research briefly explains the sovereign immunity doctrine relating to this case, summarises the facts, and analyses the potential ramifications of this judgement under international law.