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Callejo V. Bancomer, S.A.: The Need For A Commercial Activity Exception To The Act Of State Doctrine, Bryan J. Blankfield

Northwestern Journal of International Law & Business

The ability of the United States courts to adjudicate claims against foreign sovereigns is limited by the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976 ("FSIA") and the act of state doctrine. In Dunhill, a plurality of the Court held that the "concept of an act of state should not be extended to include the repudiation of a purely commercial obligation. Recently, the Fifth Circuit in Callejo v. Bancomer, S.A. examined the plurality's commercial activity exception in Dunhill, yet declined to decide whether to adopt the exception with respect to the act of state doctrine. This Note analyzes the commercial activity exception …