We have published Article, UK Supreme Court clarifies "commercial purposes" exception to state immunity: when enforcing against property, its origin is irrelevant, authored by Joanne Greenaway at Herbert Smith LLP. In SerVaas, the UK Supreme Court considered the application of the "commercial purposes" exception to immunity from execution in section 13(4) of the State Immunity Act 1978 in the context of an application for a third party debt order for the payment of state assets. The court confirmed that, when considering whether property is "in use or intended for use for commercial purposes", the origin of the property is irrelevant. It is necessary to examine the use to which the state has chosen to put the property and any intended future use. The decision demonstrates the limitations of the "commercial purposes" exception and the need to give careful consideration to the purpose of the assets against which execution is, or might be, sought, preferably at the stage of entering into the contract.