Law Commons^™

The International Law Of State Immunity And Its Development By National Institutions, Christian Tomuschat

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The proceedings between Germany and Italy currently pending before the International Court of Justice have revived interest in the legal regime of jurisdictional immunity of states. Germany charges Italy with violating the basic rule of state immunity by entertaining reparation claims brought before its civil courts by victims of serious breaches of international humanitarian law committed by Nazi Germany during World War II. Jurisdictional immunity is not absolute, but it remains preserved for truly governmental acts like military operations. None of the generally recognized exceptions apply in the German-Italian dispute. Damages resulting from international armed conflict are not covered by …

International Law's Mixed Heritage: A Common/Civil Law Jurisdiction, Colin B. Picker

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article provides the first application of the emerging mixed jurisdiction jurisprudence to a comparative analysis of international law. Such a comparative law analysis is important today as the growth and increasing vitality of international juridical, administrative and legislative institutions is placing demands on international law not previously experienced. International law is unsure where to look for help in coping with these new stresses. In significant part this isolation can be attributed to a general view among international law scholars that international law is sui generis, and hence there is little to be gained from national legal systems. This Article …

Jurisdictional Theory "Made In Japan": Convergence Of U.S. And Continental European Approaches, Akihiro Hironaka

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Recent Japanese cases concerning international jurisdiction illustrate a convergence of two distinct legal approaches to the treatment of jurisdictional issue--a rule-based, inflexible approach in Continental European countries and a standard-based, flexible approach in the United States. Japan's unique framework, as explained in this Article, might provide a useful perspective to solve the difficult question currently imposed on the Hague Conference: How is it possible to achieve comprehensive harmonization of the jurisdictional systems of the world?

The United States Dropped The Atomic Bomb Of Article 16 Of The Icc Statute, Mohamed E. Zeidy

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article discusses the recent adoption of the Security Council Resolution 1422 and its impact on international law. The Author asserts that the United States--a major proponent of Resolution 1422--desires to immunize its leaders and soldiers from the International Criminal Court's jurisdictional powers. The Author begins by describing the drafting history of Article 16 and its legal consequences. Upon highlighting the most significant reasons for opposing Resolution 1422, the Author delineates how the Resolution mirrors the inconsistency with the United Nations Charter and the Law of Treaties. Finally, the Author concludes that Resolution 1422 should be rejected because it violates …

Extra-Statutory Discovery Requirements: Violating The Twin Purposes Of 28 U.S.C. Section 1782, Christopher W. Sanzone

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Note analyzes Section 1782 of United States Code Chapter 28 and its role in the realm of international judicial assistance. The twin aims of Section 1782 are: (1) to provide efficient means of assistance to participants in foreign litigation, and (2) to encourage foreign countries by example to provide similar assistance to U.S. litigants in court. This Note posits that these goals are violated when a district court, considering a request for documents, imposes a threshold, extra-statutory requirement that the material requested be discoverable in the foreign jurisdiction where the litigation is pending.

After analyzing the legislative history of …

Professor Lowenfeld Responds, Andreas F. Lowenfeld

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Professor Silberman is as usual gracious in acknowledging my writings in various formats, and my efforts to restore conflict of laws to its place as a branch of international law, a place it has occupied in most of the world outside the United States, and occupied here as well in the view of Story and others who wrote before the balkanization of American law in the latter part of the nineteenth century. We have no disagreements on the value of the comparative method in teaching conflict of laws, civil procedure, or international litigation.

This brief response is addressed only to …

The Scattered Remains Of Sovereign Immunity For Foreign States After Republic Of Argentina V. Weltover,Inc., Sarah K. Schano

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The globalization of the United States economy in the latter half of the twentieth century has fostered greater interaction between the United States and foreign states and their instrumentalities. As a result, the likelihood of legal disputes arising between United States entities and foreign states has increased. Traditionally, foreign states have been immune from suit in United States courts. However, the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FSIA), enacted in 1976, specifies instances in which United States courts may deny immunity to foreign states and exercise jurisdiction over them. Under one provision of the FSIA, a foreign state may forfeit its immunity …

Bringing Meaning To Interest Balancing In Transnational Litigation, Spencer W. Waller

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

This Article contends that the current state of the debate over the balancing of interests in the extraterritorial application of United States law is outmoded and in need of serious reexamination. Most commentators and scholars continue to focus on the area of jurisdiction to prescribe, the acceptability of the effects test, and the development of lists of United States and foreign interests to be balanced by a United States court before exercising jurisdiction.

Professor Waller contends that this debate is no longer productive. Extraterritoriality, with some limitations for the interests of other states, is an accepted feature of United States …

Book Review, Michael C. Doland

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The book is divided into two parts. The first part addresses those subjects that the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act covers in detail, including the definition of foreign states and foreign government-owned corporations, judicial competence, jurisdiction, immunity, service of process, venue, and execution of judgments. The second part addresses those subjects that the Act covers in a cursory fashion, including burden of proof, rights of discovery, available remedies, and jury trials. In addition, the book treats those topics that received virtually no discussion under the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act but that are essential to its understanding and enforcement, including the act …

Case Digest, Law Review Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

Alien Tort Statute Grants Federal Court Subject Matter Jurisdiction Over Foreign Sovereign for Tort Committed in Clear Violation of International Law and Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act is not Exclusive Jurisdictional Grant Over Sovereign-- Amerada Hess Shipping Corp. v. Argentina Republic 830 F.2d 421 (2nd Cir. 1987)

Peace And The World Court: A Comment On The Paramilitary Activities Case, Robert F. Turner

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

One of the most painful experiences of my government service occurred on January 18, 1985, when as Acting Assistant Secretary of State for Legislative and Intergovernmental Affairs I was called on to sign letters informing Congress of the President's decision "not to participate further in the case brought by Nicaragua before the International Court of Justice." I felt deeply that the United States approach was mistaken--not so much on legal as on political grounds'--and in advocating my views I pushed strongly against the proper limits of legitimate dissent within the bureaucracy.

Having defended the Court against speculative criticism from lawyers …

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 …

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.

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 …

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 …

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, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

1. Admiralty A State has Standing to Sue to Recover the Cost of Replacing Natural Resources Destroyed by Pollution

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2. Aliens' Rights Executive Order Barring Lawfully Admitted Resident Aliens from Federal Civil Service is Valid

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3. Constitutional Law Scope of Lacey Act Limited to Foreign Laws Designed to Protect Wildlife

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4. European Economic Community Restrictive Resale Provisions, Discriminating Pricing Policies, and Refusals to Deal by Corporation with a Dominant Position in a Substantial Part of EEC Violates Article 86 of the EEC Treaty

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5. International Travel Statute Suspending Social Security Income Benefits for Recipient Temporarily Out …

Case Digest, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

1. Admiralty

State Port Authority Acting Incident to Maritime Carriage Subject to Admiralty Jurisdiction in Damage Suit

MARINE INSURANCE PROVIDING COVERAGE OF LOSSES "ARISING FROM OR OCCURRING FROM" SPECIFIED CONDITIONS DOES NOT COVER LOSSES OCCURRING AFTER PERIOD OF COVERAGE DUE TO CONDITIONS WHICH INITIALLY AROSE DURING THE PERIOD OF COVERAGE

FEDERAL COURT LACKS POWER UNDER SUITS IN ADMIRALTY ACT TO IMPOSE GOVERNMENTAL LIABILITY FOR HARM CAUSED BY FAILURE TO EXERCISE DISCRETIONARY FUNCTION

2. Alien's Rights

FAMILY RELATIONSHIP CAN BE SHOWN AS A MATTER OF FACT FOR IMMIGRATION PURPOSES WHERE APPLICABLE FOREIGN DOMESTIC LAW HOLDS MEANINGLESS THE CONCEPT OF LEGITIMACY

3. …

Footnote To The Nuclear Test Cases: Abuse Of Right--A Blind Alley For Environmentalists, Jerome B. Elkind

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In a recent article entitled "French Nuclear Tests and Article 41: Another Blow to the Authority of the Court," the author questioned the approach of the learned Judges of the International Court of Justice to article 41 of the Court's Statute. The title of that article was intended to deplore the recent tendency of States (most particularly France, but also Iceland) who are parties to the Statute of the International Court of Justice to arrogate to themselves the right to determine whether the Court has jurisdiction...

The judgment of December 20, 1974 is but one more example of the extremes …

Recent Developments--Recent Decisions, Philip B. Barr, Jr., Michael Stukenberg

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

All nations recognize the enormous problem of marine pollution. The sources of marine pollution are definable, and there are methods by which these sources may be restricted. Virtually all mankind would prefer less pollution to more. Prevention, however, becomes less attractive in light of its costs, which assume both political and economic characteristics. Varying political and economic climates coupled with problems of sovereignty and national self-interest render agreement on the imposition of standards difficult. This Recent Development will chart past and present efforts at the preservation of the marine environment, consider the issues confronting the United Nations Third Conference on …

Books Received, Journal Staff

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

ABSTRACTION AND USE OF WATER: A COMPARISON OF LEGAL REGIMES By Ludwik A. Teclaff

New York, United Nations Publications,1972. Pp. iv, 254. $5.50.

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CONSULATE OF THE SEA AND RELATED DOCUMENTS

By Stanley S. Jados

University, Alabama: The University of Alabama Press,1975. Pp. xvi, 326. $12.00

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FOOTSTEPS INTO THE FUTURE

by Rajni Kothari

New York: The Free Press, 1974. Pp. xxiii, 173. $8.95.

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THE FUTURE OF INTERNATIONAL FISHERIES MANAGEMENT

Edited by H. Gary Knight

St. Paul, Minnesota: West Publishing Co., 1975.Pp. xiii, 253. $14.00.

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THE ILLEGAL DIVERSION OF AIRCRAFT AND INTERNATIONAL LAW

By Edward McWhinney

Leiden: A.W. …

Multiple Jurisdiction--Will It Save Or Destroy The Oceans? Political Analysis Of A Legal Problem, Charles F. Doran

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The recent trend of claims to the ocean and its riches has led far beyond the liberal twelve nautical mile territorial sea limit that the United States is prepared to recognize. In particular, two documents, the Declaration of Santo Domingo, proposing a "patrimonial sea" of 200 miles, and the draft articles on an "exclusive economic zone" of 200 miles submitted by Kenya, are likely to find much favor at the substantive session of the Third Law of the Sea Conference to be held at Caracas in the summer of 1974. Emerging from conflicts of interest, which have gradually eroded the …

French Nuclear Testing And Article 41--Another Blow To The Authority Of The Court?, Jerome B. Elkind

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

On the 23rd of July 1973, at 9:00 a.m. New Zealand time, members of the crew of the New Zealand vessel, Otago, witnessed a nuclear explosion on one of the islands in the Mururoa atoll. The blast, a small one in the low kiloton range, marked the beginning of the eighth series of French atmospheric nuclear tests, which have been conducted in the Pacific since July 1966 when France moved its nuclear test site from the Reggane Firing Ground in the Sahara. Since that time the French nuclear tests have been a perennial sore spot in the diplomatic relations between …

The Statutory Proposal To Regulate The Jurisdictional Immunities Of Foreign States, R. Lee Bennett

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

In January 1973, the Departments of State and Justice submitted to Congress a draft bill that defines the jurisdictional immunities of foreign states in United States courts. This draft legislation represents a major shift in the State Department's posture on the substantive and procedural issues of sovereign immunity that will undoubtedly stir considerable controversy within the international bar during its examination by Congress.

A survey of current United States practice regarding the immunity of foreign states reveals that reform is mandatory. At present the determination whether a foreign state is entitled to jurisdictional immunity is made by the courts, whose …

Recent Treaties And Statutes, Arthur R. Louv, Woodard E. Farmer, Jr., Mark R. Von Sternberg

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

ADMIRALTY--AMENDMENT TO FEDERAL MARITIME LIEN ACT--CHARTERER CONCLUSIVELY PRESUMED TO AUTHORIZE LIENS FOR NECESSARIES AND REPAIRS

Arthur R. Louv

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TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION--MASSACHUSETTS JUDICIAL EXTENSION ACT--STATE LEGISLATURE EXTENDS JURISDICTION OF STATE COURTS TO 200 MILES AT SEA

Woodard E. Farmer, Jr.

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TERRITORIAL JURISDICTION--MINING THE DEEP SEA BED--INTERNATIONAL PROBLEMS AND NATIONAL RESOLUTIONS

Mark R. von Sternberg

Statutory Reform In Claims Against Foreign States: The Belman-Lowenfeld Proposal, Richard K.V. Hines, Kurt A. Strasser

Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law

The executive branch of the United States Government has indicated recently that it is reexamining its dominant judicatory role in the field of sovereign immunity of foreign states. Studies undertaken in 1966 by the State Department resulted in the preparation of draft legislation on sovereign immunity that the Department has been studying for possible presentation to Congress. The proposed Belman-Lowenfeld legislation would completely remove the State Department from any role in deciding sovereign immunity cases. The proposal itself would subject foreign states to the jurisdiction of United States federal courts for activities carried on or having a direct effect in …