Exxon Mobil Corp. v. Corporación Cimex, S. A. (Cuba) · ¶49

In the ordinary course, the FSIA applies when a plaintiff seeks to sue a foreign sovereign under a general federal or state cause of action. See, e.g., Argentine Republic v. Amerada Hess Shipping Corp., 488 U. S. 428, 435–436, 438 (1989) (suit under the Alien Tort Statute must satisfy the FSIA). In those circumstances, the FSIA’s default presumption of immunity and its enumerated exceptions do important work. After all, when Congress creates a general cause of action, it is not evident that Congress contemplates or intends that plaintiffs suing under that general cause of action could hale foreign sovereigns into U. S. court. In such a case, therefore, the FSIA governs which suits can go forward against foreign sovereigns.

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