The EAT held in Jananyagam v Commonwealth Secretariat that the secretariat has immunity from suit under the Commonwealth Secretariat Act 1966 and so the employment tribunal did not have jurisdiction to hear a claim for race and sex discrimination (beyond accepting the plea of immunity). The secretariat had not chosen to waive immunity (which it could have done) and so the claim had to be struck out. The EAT rejected Ms Jananyagam's argument that the secretariat was a "public athority" within the meaning of the Human Rights Act 1998 and that, in choosing not to waive immunity, it was acting in a way that was incompatable with the European Convention on Human Rights.