Cite as: 517 U. S. 654 (1996)
Syllabus
broad waiver of sovereign immunity in its first sentence, but this does not mean, as the United States asserts, that § 2 in its entirety is "jurisdictional." Several of § 2's provisions, notably its generous venue and transfer provisions, as well as its service provision, are not sensibly typed "substantive" or "jurisdictional." Instead, they have a distinctly facilitative, "procedural" cast, dealing with case processing, not substantive rights or consent to suit. The service "forthwith" prescription is not made "substantive" or "jurisdictional" by its inclusion—along with broad venue choices—in § 2. The prescription is best characterized as a rule of procedure, of the kind Rule 4 supersedes. A plaintiff like Henderson, on commencement of an action under the Suits in Admiralty Act, must resort to Rule 4 for instructions on service of process. In that Rule, one finds instructions governing, inter alia, form and issuance of the summons, service of the summons together with the complaint, who may serve process, and proof of service. The Rule also describes how service shall or may be effected on various categories of defendants. It is uncontested that all these prescriptions apply in Suits in Admiralty Act cases, just as they apply in other federal cases. There is no reason why the prescription governing time for service is not, as is the whole of Rule 4, a nonjurisdictional rule governing "practice and procedure" in federal cases, see 28 U. S. C. § 2072(a), consistent with the Rules Enabling Act and Rule 82, and rendering provisions like the Suits in Admiralty Act's service "forthwith" requirement "of no further force or effect," § 2072(b). Pp. 663-672.
51 F. 3d 574, reversed and remanded.
Ginsburg, J., delivered the opinion of the Court, in which Stevens, Scalia, Kennedy, Souter, and Breyer, JJ., joined. Scalia, J., filed a concurring opinion, in which Kennedy, J., joined, post, p. 672. Thomas, J., filed a dissenting opinion, in which Rehnquist, C. J., and O'Connor, J., joined, post, p. 673.
Richard A. Sheehy argued the cause for petitioner. With him on the briefs were Kenneth R. Breitbeil and Lauren L. Beck.
Malcolm L. Stewart argued the cause for the United
States. With him on the brief were Solicitor General Days, Assistant Attorney General Hunger, Deputy Solicitor General Bender, Michael E. Robinson, and Timothy R. Lord.
655
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