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The Unrecognized Government In American Courts: Upright V. Mercury Business Machines, Stanley B. Lubman

Hong Yen Chang Center for Chinese Legal Studies

What right have I, as the King's Judge, to interfere upon the subject of a contract with a country which he does not recognize?

Lord Eldon's words, written in 1823, have been echoed more than once by American judges, who have been as troubled as Eldon by problems complicated by diplomatic nonrecognition. Twentieth-century wars and revolutions have required American courts to decide whether unrecognized governments, entities created by them, their representatives, or their assignees could sue in domestic courts, often on matters of private right. Frequently, too, the courts have been perplexed by the effect of nonrecognition on the application …