28 U.S.C. § 1330
Section 1330 · Actions against foreign states
This is § 2 of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 1,038 court decisions — leading case Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Saudi Basic Industries Corp. (2005)
Most recently applied in CC/Devas (Mauritius) Ltd. v. Antrix Corp. (June 2025)
Applied most in the District Circuit Circuit (254 decisions)
Cases citing this section usually also cite 28 U.S.C. § 1605 · 28 U.S.C. § 1603 · 28 U.S.C. § 1604
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) The district courts shall have original jurisdiction without regard to amount in controversy of any nonjury civil action against a foreign state as defined in section 1603(a) of this title as to any claim for relief in personam with respect to which the foreign state is not entitled to immunity either under sections 1605–1607 of this title or under any applicable international agreement.
(b) Personal jurisdiction over a foreign state shall exist as to every claim for relief over which the district courts have jurisdiction under subsection (a) where service has been made under section 1608 of this title.
(c) For purposes of subsection (b), an appearance by a foreign state does not confer personal jurisdiction with respect to any claim for relief not arising out of any transaction or occurrence enumerated in sections 1605–1607 of this title.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
Effective Date
Section effective 90 days after Oct. 21, 1976, see section 8 of Pub. L. 94–583, set out as a note under section 1602 of this title.