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Full-Text Articles in Law
The "Common-Law Regime" Of Foreign Sovereign Immunity: The Actual Possession Rule In Admiralty, David J. Bederman
The "Common-Law Regime" Of Foreign Sovereign Immunity: The Actual Possession Rule In Admiralty, David J. Bederman
Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
It has been a long-standing rule in admiralty that in order for a foreign sovereign to assert immunity in U.S. courts, the res that is the object of the maritime claim must be in the actual possession of the foreign state at the time the case is brought. Inasmuch as Samantar recognized the existence of a "common-law regime" that preexisted the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), this Article examines whether the actual possession rule remains in force today. The FSIA codified the actual possession rule in its provisions for the handling of admiralty claims against foreign sovereigns, but this has …
The Immunity Of State Officials Under The Un Convention On Jurisdictional Immunities Of States And Their Property, David P. Stewart
The Immunity Of State Officials Under The Un Convention On Jurisdictional Immunities Of States And Their Property, David P. Stewart
Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
The U.S. Supreme Court decided in Samantar v. Yousuf that claims of immunity by individual foreign officials in U.S. courts will be determined not under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act but instead under the common law, drawing on principles of international law. The 2004 UN Convention on the Jurisdictional Immunities of States and Their Properties represents the most recent and comprehensive international thinking on the question of jurisdictional immunities of foreign states and their officials in foreign courts. Under the Convention, individual representatives of a state acting in that capacity are entitled to the same immunities as the state itself. …
Samantar And Executive Power, Peter B. Rutledge
Samantar And Executive Power, Peter B. Rutledge
Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
This essay examines Samantar v. Yousuf in the context of broader debate about the relationship between federal common law and executive power. Samantar represents simply the latest effort by the Executive Branch to literally shape the meaning of law through a process referred to in the literature as "executive lawmaking." While traditional accounts of executive lawmaking typically have treated the idea as a singular concept, Samantar demonstrates the need to bifurcate the concept into at least two different categories: acts of executive lawmaking decoupled from pending litigation and acts of executive lawmaking taken expressly in response to litigation. As Samantar …
The Dog That Caught The Car: Observations On The Past, Present, And Future Approaches Of The Office Of The Legal Adviser To Official Acts Immnunities, John B. Bellinger Iii
The Dog That Caught The Car: Observations On The Past, Present, And Future Approaches Of The Office Of The Legal Adviser To Official Acts Immnunities, John B. Bellinger Iii
Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law
The Supreme Court's decision in Samantar v. Yousuf vindicated the position of the State Department's Office of the Legal Adviser, which had long argued that the immunities of current and former foreign government officials in U.S. courts are defined by common law and customary international law as articulated by the Executive Branch, rather than by the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976. But the decision will place a burden on the Office of the Legal Adviser, which will now be asked to submit its views on the potential immunity of every foreign government official sued in the United States. The …