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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).