The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia (Cultural Bureau) v Ms Costantine
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The Court of Appeal has dismissed an appeal brought by the Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia (Cultural Bureau). The Royal Embassy of Saudi Arabia (“the Respondent”) sought to appeal against a finding that it could not benefit from state immunity under the State Immunity Act 1978.
From 2010 to 2018 the Claimant was employed by the Respondent in its Cultural Bureau in London as a post room clerk and then as a secretary. She presented a claim to the employment tribunal of discrimination and harassment because of her Christian Catholic religion. The Respondent asserted that her claim was barred on the basis of state immunity.
At a preliminary hearing in June 2021 the employment tribunal concluded that the Claimant’s employment was not an exercise of sovereign authority and therefore state immunity did not apply. Applying the Supreme Court’s decision of Benkharbouche v Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs; Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs and Libya v Janah, [2018] IRLR 123, [2017] ICR 132, the tribunal concluded that the Claimant’s employment fell within the middle category of “administrative and technical” staff and that her employment was not an exercise of sovereign authority. Therefore, it held that the Claimant’s European law claims could proceed to a final hearing.
The Respondent appealed to the EAT. The claim was rejected on the sift by Mr Mathew Gullick KC, sitting as a Deputy Judge of the High Court. At a 3(10) hearing, His Honour Judge Barklem also rejected the Respondent’s appeal.
The Respondent obtained permission from the Court of Appeal to appeal. The Claimant was successful in obtaining a costs protection order, as an individual moving from a non-costs to a costs jurisdiction.
On 13 March 2024 Lord Justice Underhill, sitting with Lord Justice Warby and Lord Justice Newey, dismissed the appeal after the Appellant failed to instruct alternative legal representatives to attend the appeal after the Respondent’s previous representatives withdrew.
The Claimant can now have her substantive discrimination claims heard by the employment tribunal more than six years after she first presented her claim.
Tamar Burton appeared for the Claimant in the employment tribunal and in the Court of Appeal instructed by Zimmers Solicitors.
