contract-law legal-terms
What is meant by the term &quot;Foreign sovereign&quot;?
<p>What is meant by the term &quot;Foreign sovereign&quot;?</p>
<p>It relates to the contract act.</p>

<p><strong>What is meant by the term &quot;Foreign sovereign&quot;?</strong></p>
<p>The definition of <a href="https://www.lexico.com/definition/foreign" rel="nofollow noreferrer">foreign</a> includes:</p>
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>Of [or] from ... of a country ... other than one's own.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p>And one definition of <a href="https://www.lexico.com/definition/sovereign" rel="nofollow noreferrer">sovereign</a> is:</p>
<blockquote>
<ul>
<li>A supreme ruler, especially a monarch.</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p>Based on the OP's profile picture, I assume that this question relates
to the <a href="https://indiankanoon.org/doc/171398/" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Indian Contract Act 1872</a> which, at s.11, states:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Who are competent to contract.—Every person is competent to contract who is of the age of majority according to the law to which he is subject,1 and who is of sound mind and is not disqualified from contracting by any law to which he is subject. —Every person is competent to contract who is of the age of majority according to the law to which he is subject,1 and who is of sound mind and is not disqualified from contracting by any law to which he is subject.&quot;</p>
</blockquote>
<p>There is, as far as I can see, no mention of a &quot;Foreign Sovereign&quot; within the Act, but this <a href="https://www.intolegalworld.com/article?title=capacity-to-contract" rel="nofollow noreferrer">commentary</a> on the capacity to contract says:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>According to the contract act, the following are said to disqualify from entering into any contract:-</p>
<p>...</p>
<p>(b) Foreign Sovereign
...</p>
</blockquote>
<p>This commentary is corroborated by <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Contract_Act,_1872" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Wikipedia</a>:</p>
<blockquote>
<p>There are other laws of the land that disqualify certain persons from contracting. They are:-</p>
<p>...</p>
<ul>
<li>Foreign sovereigns, diplomatic staff etc.
...</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>
<p>However, I am unable to locate these &quot;<em>other laws</em>&quot;, but taking into account the age of the Act, and the status of India at the time it was written, it is possible that Foreign Sovereign could be interpreted by the relevant court to include a <a href="https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_of_state" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><strong>Head of State</strong></a></p>
