Labour Court dismisses Aideen Damery’s appeal against Italian Embassy jurisdiction ruling

The Labour Court dismissed Aideen Damery’s appeal against a decision that it had no jurisdiction to hear her race discrimination complaint against the Italian Embassy. The determination was signed on 14 December 2004; the merits were not decided. Damery, an Irish citizen who began working at the Embassy in Dublin in 1984, argued that European Union law allowed her complaint to proceed. The Embassy relied on sovereign immunity. The Court found that Damery’s work involved trust and confidentiality and participation in Italian State public acts. It found no express waiver of immunity and concluded that the Embassy could rely on it.