Law Commons^™

The Future Of The Federal Common Law Of Foreign Relations, Ingrid Wuerth

Vanderbilt Law School Faculty Publications

The federal common law of foreign relations has been in decline for decades. The field was built in part on the claim that customary international law is federal common law and in part on the claim that federal judges should displace state law when they conclude that it poses difficulties for U.S. foreign relations. Today, however, customary international law is generally applied based upon the implied intentions of Congress, rather than its free-standing status as federal common law, and judicial evaluation of foreign policy problems has largely been replaced by reliance upon presidential or congressional action, or by standard constitutional …

Case Digest, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This CASE DIGEST provides brief analyses of cases that represent current aspects of transnational law. The Digest includes cases that establish legal principles and cases that apply established legal principles to new factual situations. The cases are grouped in topical categories and references are given for further research.

Table of Contents

I. EXTRADITION/FORCIBLE ABDUCTION ...................... 537

II. IMMUNITY FROM ARREST ................................ 538

III.FOREIGN SOVEREIGN IMMUNITY .......................... 539

IV. DISCOVERY/INTERNATIONAL RULES OF JUDICIAL PROCEDURE . 540

Immunity Of International Organizations In United States Courts: Absolute Or Restrictive?, Richard J. Oparil

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Since 1945, international and intergovernmental organizations have been entitled to immunity under the International Organizations Immunities Act (IOIA) akin to that enjoyed by foreign governments, which was absolute at that time. In 1976, however, passage of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA) significantly restricted the nature of foreign governments' immunity. This Article addresses the issue of whether the FSIA also restricted the immunity enjoyed by international organizations. The first two sections describe the IOLA and the FSIA. The third section discusses a number of cases involving international organizations and the ways courts have been able to avoid the issue of …