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07/05/2025

EAT clarifies principles of territorial and international jurisdiction in CNN v Bhatti

News, Employment & discrimination

The EAT has dismissed CNN’s appeal against a decision of the Employment Tribunal which held that it had both territorial and international jurisdiction to hear the claims of British presenter and international correspondent, Saima Mohsin, injured on assignment and later fired.

Saima is a well-known British journalist who has been a familiar face on Sky News, BBC, GMTV, ITV & Channel 4, PBS & CNN. Saima is the 2024 recipient of the Kathy Gannon Legacy Award for her “integrity, resilience, courage, and an unyielding commitment to truth.” The Coalition for Women in Journalism also recognised Saima’s “courage in standing up against injustice following her injury on assignment is a testament to her integrity and dedication to the journalism profession.”

As the face of Pakistan’s first English news channel and CNN’s Pakistan correspondent, Saima was named one of the 50 most powerful Pakistani women in the world by The News newspaper & Top 100 women to shake Pakistan by Newsweek magazine.

Saima brought claims against CNN in the UK for unfair dismissal, discrimination & victimisation arising out of her work as an international correspondent, working primarily across Asia, but also in Europe. CNN, which is domiciled in Atlanta, USA, contested the jurisdiction of the Employment Tribunal, contending that claims ought to have been brought abroad. The Employment Tribunal disagreed at first instance: it held that Saima’s employment had a sufficient connection with the UK to establish territorial jurisdiction, and that she was able to establish international jurisdiction on a number of alternative bases, including the Brussels Regulation and domestic statutory and procedural rules. CNN appealed this ruling to the EAT.

In a judgment handed down on 6 May 2025, Kerr J, sitting in the EAT, dismissed CNN’s appeal.

In relation to territorial jurisdiction he found that:

while the question of whether Parliament intended a dispute to fall within the ambit of employment and equality legislation was a question of law, the question of whether the employment relationship had a sufficient connection with the UK was an evaluative judgment by a tribunal (para. 45). He found that the conclusions the Employment Tribunal came to after conducting an evaluative exercise were ones to which it was entitled to come (paras. 45-51).

In relation to international jurisdiction he found that:

Domestic employment and equality statutes confer international jurisdiction unless ousted by “the Brussels Regulation or some other principle of private international law with force equal to that of primary domestic legislation” (para. 65).
The Brussels Regulation, read in light of its protective purpose, could only assist the Claimant, and could not displace the jurisdiction of UK Tribunals (para. 71). It did, in any event, assist the Claimant, and provided two bases on which international jurisdiction could be established in this case (paras. 84 and 94).
Rule 8 of the Employment Tribunal Rules of Procedure 2013 could not confer international jurisdiction on the Tribunal (para. 75), settling a lengthy debate on this topic. However, in practice, this will not matter for Claimants in light of the EAT’s findings on domestic statutes conferring jurisdiction unless ousted by some higher or equivalent form of law at para. 65.
In the event that it was needed, the Claimant could also rely on domestic procedural rules to establish international jurisdiction via service of the claim form. CNN’s argument that common law principles on service had to be applied was dismissed: the Claimant could rely on the ordinary parts of the Employment Tribunal rules on delivery of documents in this regard (paras. 102-106).

The matter will now proceed to a substantive ET hearing to determine the merits of Saima’s unfair dismissal, discrimination & victimisation claims.

Paras Gorasia and Finnian Clarke (Doughty Street Chambers) acted for the successful Respondent to the appeal, Saima Mohsin, instructed via direct access.

Details regarding a seminar and/or webinar discussing this judgment will be circulated in due course.

Read the EAT judgment here.

Read the ET judgment here.

A sample of press reporting can be found here:

The Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/jul/10/former-reporter-suing-cnn-for-unfair-dismissal-and-racial-discrimination

The Independent: https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/cnn-journalist-saima-mohsin-court-b2372818.html

Deadline: https://deadline.com/2023/08/saima-mohsin-cnn-sue-unfair-dismissal-1235519654/

Daily Mail: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-12284355/Former-CNN-international-correspondent-sues-network-unfair-dismissal.html

New York Post: https://nypost.com/2023/07/10/ex-cnn-

Daily Beast: https://www.thedailybeast.com/ex-cnn-reporter-saima-mohsin-suing-network-for-racial-discrimination-unfair-dismissal

New York Daily News: https://www.nydailynews.com/snyde/ny-saima-mohsin-cnn-claim-fired-disability-race-20230710-4bylmzrjj5fk7ai6tcab4jfqna-story.html

NDTV: https://www.ndtv.com/world-news/ex-cnn-journalist-sues-network-for-racial-discrimination-unfair-dismissal-4194998