Law Commons^™

Case Digest, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

GOOD FAITH EXCEPTION TO THE EXCLUSIONARY RULE EXTENDS TO FOREIGN CRIMINAL INVESTIGATIONS WHERE UNITED STATES NARCOTICS AUTHORITIES REASONABLY RELIED ON FOREIGN LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS' REPRESENTATIONS THAT SEARCH COMPLIED WITH THE FOREIGN COUNTRY'S LAW--United States v. Peter-son, 812 F.2d 486 (9th Cir. 1987).

ASSETS OF A WHOLLY-OWNED FOREIGN INSTRUMENTALITY ARE NOT SUBJECT TO ATTACHMENT TO SATISFY JUDGMENT AGAINST A FOREIGN STATE UNLESS PLAINTIFF OVERCOMES PRESUMPTION OF INDEPENDENT STATUS--Hercaire Int'l, Inc. v. Argentina, 821 F.2d 559(11th Cir. 1987).

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT HAS SUBJECT MATTER JURISDICTION OVER MEXICAN CONSULAR OFFICIALS FOR THEIR ALLEGED ATTEMPTS TO SUPPRESS CRITICAL DEMONSTRATIONS OUTSIDE MEXICAN CONSULATE IN …

Sovereign Immunity In Perspective, Stefan A. Riesenfeld

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The doctrine of the immunity of foreign governments from the adjudicatory and enforcement jurisdiction of national courts is rooted in two bases of international law, the notion of sovereignty and the notion of the equality of sovereigns. There is no need to rehearse the historical growth of these foundations of the modern international community. Suffice it to say that E.D. Dickinson's celebrated study, The Equality of States in International Law, furnishes a detailed account of the evolution of these notions.

Although historically the recognition of the jurisdictional immunities of foreign states may have been intertwined with the recognition of the …

Foreign Sovereign Immunity In The United States Courts 1976-1986, Mark B. Feldman

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In principle, the Reagan Administration should support measures that strengthen the international trading system and that help secure United States investment abroad, as such measures encourage the flows of capital, technology and know-how from the private sector, which the Administration recognizes to be essential to successful economic development in the Third World. However, the responsible attorneys in the State Department and the Justice Department are particularly sensitive to the reactions of foreign governments and to the interests of United States agencies as potential defendants in foreign courts.

The Executive finally defined its position in hearings in the House of Representatives …

Case Digest, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Act of State Doctrine and Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act Do Not Necessarily insulate a Foreign Government from Civil Liability for the Assassination of a Person on United States Soil - Liu v. Republic of China, slip op. No. 85-7461 (N.D. Cal. Aug. 11, 1986)

Political Offense Exception does not Apply to Bar Extradition if Offenses are Committed Where no Uprising Exists--Quinn v. Robinson, 783 F.2d 776 (9th Cir. 1986).

United States Courts have no Authority to Enforce Foreign Judgments when the Request for Judicial Assistance is made via Letters Rogatory Filed Directly in the Court, In Re Civil Rogatory Letters …

Case Digest, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

RELIGIOUS ORGANIZATIONS AND MEMBERS OF CLERGY OF VARIOUS DENOMINATIONS LACK STANDING TO CHALLENGE ADOPTION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF DIPLOMATIC RELATIONS WITH THE VATICAN

--Americans United for Separation of Church and State v. Reagan, 786 F.2d 194 (3d Cir.1986)

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EVEN THOUGH PROCEEDINGS IN THE FOREIGN FORUM MAY TAKE MORE TIME AND MAY YIELD A SMALLER RECOVERY THAN PROCEEDING IN THE UNITED STATES FORUM, THE FOREIGN FORUM MAY BE CONSIDERED AN ADEQUATE FORUM FOR THE PURPOSES OF THE FORRUM NON CONVENIENS DOCTRINE

--De Melo v. Lederle Laboratories, 801 F.2d 1058 (8th Cir. 1986)

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ASSERTION OF PERSONAL JURISDICTION IN CALIFORNIA OVER AN …

United States-Based Multinational Corporations Should Be Tried In The United States For Their Extraterritorial Toxic Torts, Dianna B. Shew

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

When a foreign plaintiff sues a United States-based multinational for damages resulting from an extraterritorial toxic tort, the case should be tried in United States courts. The courts are assured of personal jurisdiction as long as there are sufficient contacts between the foreign subsidiary and the United States. Dismissal on grounds of forum non conveniens is not desirable because the United States has a vested interest in monitoring and even influencing the behavior of multinationals that do business within its borders. The requisite "adequate alternative forum" is simply not available in some countries. In addition, despite their case backload, United …

Book Note, Covey T. Oliver

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Students of international law in the United States have long desired a textbook to accompany the use of one or another of the "case-materials-problems" study books used in their courses. They do not yet have such a text,' but now they can find substantial degrees of security, guidance, and intellectual encouragement in a veritable gem of a Nutshell. Professors Buergenthal and Maier have written a remarkably accurate and insightful book on international law, almost as if they had engraved it on a small gold tablet. It is, as a work, outstanding in the West Publishing Company Nutshell series.

Jurisdiction Over Foreign Governments, Melissa L. Werthan, Nancie L. Combs, Jeffrey L. Deitch, Anita L. Fuoss

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Passage of the FSIA in 1976 codified the restrictive theory of sovereign immunity, which provides that a foreign state will re-main immune from suit for its public acts but will lose immunity for its private and commercial acts. By placing the determination of a foreign government's immunity in the hands of the judiciary, Congress attempted to standardize an area of the law that had been governed by political relations between the United States and foreign governments.

The FSIA is the exclusive mechanism through which private parties can seek redress against foreign governments in United States courts. The Act provides a …

Case Comment, Laura F. Howard

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

SCOPE OF REVIEW IN EXTRADITION PROCEEDINGS: The Government Cannot Appeal A Denial of Extradition Request Based on the Declaratory Judgment Act --United States v. Doherty, 786 F.2d 491 (2d Cir. 1986).

BANKRUPTCY--Section 304 Of The Bankruptcy Code Is Not An Exclusive Remedy In A Nonbankruptcy Court, Cunard Steamship Co.Ltd. v. Salen Reefer Serv. A.B., 773 F.2d 452 (2d Cir. 1985).

Recent Development--U.S. Legislation To Prosecute Terrorists: Antiterrorism Or Legalized Kidnapping?, Catherine C. Fisher

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Recent Development examines the jurisdictional bases for the proposed extraterritorial extension of The Terrorist Prosecution Act to crimes that do not occur within the territory of the United States and to persons who are not United States citizens. The historical basis for allowing the prosecution of persons who have been forcibly brought into the court's jurisdiction and constitutional due process concerns that accompany such enforcement means are also detailed. Also discussed is the potential conflict between the Act and United States foreign relations law, particularly with respect to the possible forceful intrusion by the United States upon another state's …

The Emerging Doctrine Of "Forum Non Conveniens": A Comparison Of The Scottish, English And United States Applications, Raymond T. Abbott

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Note will first examine the development of "forum non conveniens" in Scotland, the country of the doctrine's origin. It will compare the doctrine to the traditional English policy of staying proceedings in situations involving vexation or oppression, and examine how the liberalization of the English policy has led ultimately to the recognition of forum non conveniens as an appropriate description for the factors an English court will consider prior to a dismissal or stay of an action. Similarly, the doctrine of forum non conveniens in the United States will be compared with the doctrines in the other two jurisdictions, …

Recent Decisions, Jonathan F. Mack, Jesse T. Wilkins, Joseph A. Dijulio

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Constitutional Law--Grandfather Clause in International Emergency Economic Powers Act Permits the President to Ban Travel to Cuba without Declaring an Emergency Regan v. Wald, 104 S. Ct. 3026 (1984)

Jurisdiction--Bank may not Assert Act of State Doctrine as Defense in Action on Certificate of Deposit Garcia v. Chase Manhattan Bank, N.A., 735 F.2d 645 (2d Cir. 1984).

Jurisdiction--Commercial Activity as Applied to the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act and the Act of State Doctrine Braka v. Bancomer, S.A., 589 F. Supp. 1465 (S.D.N.Y. 1984)

Case Digest, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

A Preliminary Injunction to Prevent a Party from Taking Action in a Foreign Jurisdiction that would Destroy United States Jurisdiction does not Violate Principles of Prescriptive Jurisdiction or International Comity--Laker Airways,Ltd. v. Sabena, Belgian World Airlines, 731 F.2d 909 (D.C. Cir.1984).

International Carriers are Subject to the Private Laws of a Foreign State when Carriers are Party to Trade Agreements with that Foreign State and are Doing Business within its Territorial Jurisdiction--British Airways Boardv. Laker Airways, Ltd., [1984] 3 W.L.R. 413; 23 I.L.M. 727.

Court of International Trade has Jurisdiction over Claims Challenging Regulations Governing the Importation of Goods Bearing …

Remarks On Subject Matter Jurisdiction, Michael Blechman

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In United States jurisprudence, two quite different legal concepts are both labeled jurisdiction. In personam or personal jurisdiction refers to the extent to which a court has power over a particular defendant. Subject matter jurisdiction is an entirely different concept that addresses the question of whether a particular law is intended to apply to different kinds of conduct. In the antitrust area, for example, obtaining subject matter jurisdiction depends upon whether conduct within the United States has a sufficient impact on interstate commerce or foreign conduct has a sufficient impact on United States domestic or export commerce to be within …

Obtaining Evidence Abroad, Harry J. O'Kane

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This talk will avoid a discussion of whatever problems exist in true international litigation. True international litigation may be defined as that body of law devoted to disputes between nations and governmental bodies which are addressed in nonterritorial world courts or those courts accepting the disputes under their own system of jurisprudence. My remarks will focus on the problems in obtaining evidence in a country other than the United States for use in a suit within the United States. A tabular listing of information relating to what can and cannot be accomplished in the way of obtaining evidence in various …

Case Digest, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

THE UNITED STATES MAY EXERCISE JURISDICTION OVER PERSONSON A "STATELESS" VESSEL WITHOUT SHOWING A NEXUS BETWEEN THE VESSEL AND THE UNITED STATES--United States v. Pinto-Mejia, 720 F.2d 248 (2d Cir. 1983).

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ALIEN RETAINS RIGHT TO DEPORTATION PROCEEDING AFTER RETURNING FROM AUTHORIZED DEPARTURE NOTWITHSTANDING THAT IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE PERMISSION TO DEPART WAS STYLED AS AN "ADVANCE PAROLE"--Joshi v. District Director, Immigration and Naturalization Serv., 720 F.2d 799 (1983).

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NO VIOLATION OF INTERNATIONAL LAW WHEN EQUIPMENT LOCATED IN UNITED STATES RECORDS TRANSNATIONAL TELECOMMUNICATIONS--United States v. Romano, 706 F.2d 370 (2d Cir. 1983).

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UNITED STATES MANUFACTURERS HAVE A CAUSE …

Case Digest, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Point of Final Loading and Routing is Place of Shipment for Purposes of Valuing Lost Cargo; Private Carrier's Both-to-Blame Clause is Enforceable---Allseas Maritime, S.A. v. M/V Mimosa, 574 F. Supp. 844 (S.D. Tex. 1983).

LAND-BASED NEGLIGENCE CAUSING AN AIRPLANE CRASH IN INTERNATIONAL WATERS FALLS WITHIN ADMIRALTY JURISDICTION--Miller v. United States, 18 Av. CAS. (CCH) 17,912 (11th Cir. 1984).

FREIGHT FORWARDER WHO BREACHES A FIDUCIARY DUTY TO HIS SHIPPER VIOLATES THE WIRE FRAUD STATUTE--United States v. Armand Ventura, 724 F.2d 305 (2d Cir. 1983).

IN PERSONAM JURISDICTION OBTAINED BY ATTACHMENT OF PROPERTY IS DIFFERENT FROM IN REM JURISDICTION--Belcher Co. v. MIV …

Case Digest, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Case Digest

Administrative Procedural Due Process Supported in Major Foreign Policy Dispute --Dresser Industries, Inc. v. Baldrige, 549 F. Supp. 108 (D.D.C. 1982).

Permanent Resident Alien Attempting to Reenter the United States is Entitled to Due Process in an Exclusionary Hearing --Landon v. Plasencia, 103 S. Ct. 321 (1982).

Alien does not Have a Fourteenth Amendment Interest in a Procedure to Stay Deportation Where the INS Established the Procedure for Administrative --Wong ChungWen v. Ferro, 543 F. Supp. 1016 (W.D.N.Y. 1982).

A Plaintiff Suing a Foreign Sovereign's Insurer is not Entitled to a Trial by Jury --Goar v. Compania Peruana …

Case Digest, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

EMPLOYEE WHO SPENDS "SOME PORTION OF WORK TIME IN MARITIME ACTIVITIES" IS AN "EMPLOYEE" COVERED BY THE LONGSHOREMEN'S AND WORKERS' COMPENSATION ACT-Schwabenland v.Sanger Boats, 683 F.2d 309 (9th Cir. 1982)

UNITED STATES CARRIAGE OF GOODS BY SEA ACT EXEMPTS DEFENDANT FROM LIABILITY FOR SHIP DAMAGE INCURRED WHILE DISCHARGING CARGO--Seven Seas Transportation Ltd. v. Pacifico Union Marina Corp. [1982] 2 Lloyd's L.R. 465

IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION SERVICE DISTRICT DIRECTOR IS ENTITLED TO BROAD DISCRETION IN WEIGHING CRITERIA FOR PAROLE DETERMINATION OF UNADMITTED ALIENS--Bertrand v. Sava,684 F.2d 204 (2d Cir. 1982)

THE RACKETEER INFLUENCED AND CORRUPT ORGANIZATIONS ACT DOES NOT APPLY TO …

Case Digest, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Article III of the United States Constitution does not Grant Congress the Power to Extend United States Courts' Jurisdiction over Suits by Foreign Plaintiffs against Foreign Defendants

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Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 37(B), the Courts have the Power to Impose Sanction of Personal Jurisdiction when a Party Fails to Comply with Discovery Order

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Foreign Sovereign Immunity--A Strict Construction of the Concept of Instrumentalities under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act

Recent Decisions, Robert C. Goodrich, Jr., Christopher Q. King, Jay D. Grushkin

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Recent Decisions

Jurisdiction and Procedure - Forum non Conveniens--The Foreign Plaintiff is Entitled to Less Deference in His Choice of Forum than is a Citizen or Resident Plaintiff; A Change of Law Resulting from Dismissal is Not a Substantial Factor in the Forum non Conveniens Analysis.

Robert Charles Goodrich, Jr.

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ALIENS--Exclusion of Aliens from State Probation Officer Position is not Unconstitutional because it Falls Within the Political Function Exception

Christopher Qualley King

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SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY--Ship Owning Corporation's Contacts with United States are Sufficient to Extend Jurisdiction over Action for Damages involving Maritime Collision: Financial Effect on a United States …

Case Digest, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Admiralty Jurisdiction Exists in Products Liability Action although Product is not Unique to Maritime Use

Plaintiff, a shipyard worker who was exposed to asbestos dust and fiber while installing asbestos insulation, contracted asbestosis, an incurable lung disorder, and sued the manufacturer of the asbestos product, Johns-Manville Corporation, alleging negligent failure to warn and breach of warranty.

British Courts have Jurisdiction over British Subjects Committing Offenses aboard a Foreign Ship on the High Seas

Three British subjects were charged in a British court with violating the Criminal Damage Act of 1971 by committing acts of vandalism on a Danish vessel in …

Case Digest, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Carrier Who Employs Stevedore under a Long-Term Contract is Vicariously Liable to Cargo Owner for Stevedore's Mishandling of Cargo even after Unloading and Storage

Vessel Owner Denied Duty Remission because of Procedural Failure in Filings with Customs Service

Wife of Harbor Worker Injured Nonfatally in State Territorial Waters May Maintain Action for Loss of Husband's Society

Corporation may Qualify for Tax Treatment as a Western Hemisphere Trade Corporation even though Incidental Purchases are Made Outside the Hemisphere

Importation or Receipt of Goods from the United States Confirmed by Telex to Plaintiff in United States Insufficient Contacts to Establish Personal Jurisdiction …

Recent Developments, Gali Hagel, John R. Heldman

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

Aliens' Rights--The Refugee Act of 1980 as Response to the 1967 Protocol Relating to the Status of Refugees: The First Test

Gali Hagel

The Refugee Act of 1980, reflecting United States commitments under the 1951 Convention and the 1967 Protocol, went into effect during a wave of immigration that created a state of emergency in strongly affected southern Florida. Under a severe test of its commitment to the terms of the 1967 Protocol and its implicit sense of moral obligation to grant asylum to individuals fleeing dictatorial rule, the United States responded positively in accepting the Cubans. Although …

Case Digest, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Act of State Doctrine does not Preclude Inquiry by United States Court into Alleged Repudiation by a Foreign Government of its Obligation Arising from a Purely Commercial Transaction

Admiralty Jurisdiction Extends inland to Automobile Accident Caused by the Negligence of Ship's Crew

Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act Incorporates the Long-Shoremen's and Harbor Worker's Compensation Act, and includes Provisions Depriving Claims by Outer Continental Shelf Employees Injured on the Job against Vessel Ownerbased upon Breach of Warranty of Seaworthiness

University's Restrictive Definition of Domicile, which Precludes Nonimmigrant Aliens from Attaining "In-State" Status for Tuition Purposes, Does not Violate Due Process

Order …

Case Digest, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Case Digest

1. Aliens' Rights

Alien is Ineligible for Naturalization when He is Relieved from Military Service and Waives All Rights under Immigration and Naturalization Laws

Executive Orders Requiring United States Claims Against Iranian Assets to be Submitted to Binding Arbitration are Valid Exercise of Presidential Powers

Injury or Intent to Injure is not an Essential Element of the Crime of Assault on a Foreign Official or an Internationally Protected Person

2. European Economic Community

Community Law Authorizes a Member State of the European Economic Community to Prescribe Penalties for a Contravention of the Prohibition Against Fishing Without Authorization in …

Case Digest, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Case Digest--

Spouse of Injured Seaman May Recover Damages for Loss of Society under Maritime Common Law

Federal District Court Lacks Jurisdiction under 28 U.S.C. § 1350 over Fraud Action Brought by Alien when Claim Fails to Implicate a Treaty or Body of Rules Governing Relations between Foreign States

Jurisdiction under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act Requires at Least a Finding of International Shoe "Minimum Contacts"

Appellate Court will not Review the Post-Settlement Appeal of a Pre-Settlement Provisional Remedy without District Court Consideration of the Intervening Events

Foreign States are Subject to Liability for Non-Commercial Torts arising from the Commercial …

Books Received, C. C. S., C. A. P.

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

A Chronology and Fact Book of the United Nations 1941-1979

By Thomas Hovet, Jr. and Erica Hovet

Dobbs Ferry, New York: Ocean Publications, sixth edition, 1980. Pp. 304. $17.50.

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Copyright in International Relations: International Protection of Literary and Scientific Works

By Mark Moiseevich Boguslavsky

Sydney, Australia: Australian Copyright Council,1979. Pp. 224.

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Deep Sea Mining Edited

by Judith Koldow

Cambridge, Mass.:The MIT Press, 1980. $17.50.

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The Enclosure of Ocean Resources: Economics and the Law of the Sea

By R. D. Eckert

Stanford, California: The Hoover Institution, 1979. Pp. 408. $16.95.

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Federal Jurisdiction in Australia

By Zelman Cowen …

Case Digest, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Case Digest ================

1. Admiralty

Provisions of Carriage of Goods by Sea Act Incorporated by Reference in Bill of Lading are to be Given Effect Consistent with other Bill of Lading and Tariff Provisions

Voyage Charter Extended to Cover Contract Setting Termination Date in Order to Avoid "Secret" Maritime Liens

2. International Patent Regulation

In a Patentee's Dealing with Licensees, the Policies Underlying the Patent System do not Override those of the Sherman Act

3. Jurisdiction and Procedure

Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act § 1611 operates when Treaty Waiver does not specifically include a Certain Type of Property

Transactions involving Options …

Reciprocal Influence Of British And United States Law, Clark C. Siewert

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The influence of British and United States courts on each other's statutory and decisional law has been primarily indirect. Although few fundamental differences exist between the legal principles, methods, and concepts of the two major common law jurisdictions, the courts in both countries have resisted the use of the other's case law. This is unfortunate because a United States or an English case might provide a fresh perspective for a domestic court that otherwise feels bound by a previous line of reasoning. Since cases from foreign jurisdictions are most relevant in dealing with a question of international or transnational law, …