Home > West's Encyclopedia of American Law > Sovereign Immunity

The legal protection that prevents a sovereign state or person from being sued without consent.

Sovereign immunity is a judicial doctrine that prevents the government or its political subdivisions, departments, and agencies from being sued without its consent. The doctrine stems from the ancient English principle that the monarch can do no wrong.

Suits against the United States

In early American history, the courts supported the traditional view that the United States could not be sued without congressional authorization (CHISHOLM V. GEORGIA, 2 U.S. [2 Dall.] 419, 478, 1 L. Ed. 440 [1793]; Cohens v. Virginia, 19 U.S. [6 Wheat.] 264, 412, 5 L. Ed. 257 [1821]). This IMMUNITY applied to suits filed by states as well as individuals (Kansas v. United States, 204 U.S. 331, 27 S. Ct. 388, 51 L. Ed. 510 [1906]). Thus, for many years, those...