Syllabus
- Anthony D'Amato, Is International Law Really "Law"?, 79 Nw. U. L. Rev. 1293 (1985)
I. Where does International Law come from?
- a. I.C.J. (International Court of Justice) Statute Art. 38
- b. Discussion of Natural and Positive Law
- Introduction to Modern Reports, Kings Bench 1700
- Case Concerning U. S. Diplomatic and Consular Staff in Tehran (U.S.A. v. Iran), International
Court of Justice, 74 Am. J. Int'l L. 746
- 1. J. S. Watson, Legal Theory, Efficacy and Validity in the Development of Human Rights
Norms in International Law, 1979 U. Ill. L. Forum 609
- 2. Anthony D'Amato, The Concept of Human Rights in International Law, 82 Colum. L. Rev.
1110 (1982)
- 3. The Paquete Habana, 175 U.S. 677 (1900).
II. Using International Law at the International Level.
- a. Interpretation and Application of the 1971 Montreal Convention (Libya v. U.S.A.), International
Court of Justice, 31 I.L.M. 665 (1992)
- b. Case Concerning Arbitral Award of 31 July 1989 (Guinea-Bissau v. Senegal), 31 I.L.M. 36 (ICJ,
1991)
- d. U.S.S. Stark, 26 I.L.M. 1423-28 (1987); 28 I.L.M. 645-48 (1989)
- e. International claims law.
- 1. Actions toward aliens that violate international law.
- a. Chattin (U.S.A.) v. United Mexican States, 4 U.N. Repts. of Intl. Arb. Awards 282
(Mexico/U.S.A. General Claims Commission).
- b. Richards (U.S.A.) v. United Mexican States, 4 U.N.Repts. of Intl. Arb. Awards 275
(Mexico/U.S.A. General Claims Commission, 1927).
- c. Lynching of Italians at New Orleans, 6 Moore, Digest of International Law 837 (1906).
- d. United States position on international expropriation. 1978 Digest of United States Practice
in International Law1226-27.
- e. United States position on contract claims. 8 Whiteman,Digest of International Law 906
(1963) and 1975 Digest of United States Practice in International Law 485
- 2. Theory of claims in respect of nationals.
- a. United States position on espousal and settlement of claims. 8 Whiteman, Digest of
International Law 1216 (1963).
- b. Excerpt from Dames & Moore v. Regan, 453 U.S. 654, 679-81 (1981).
- c. United States position on exhaustion of local remedies. 8 Whiteman, Digest of
International Law 769-71 (1963).
- d. Ambatielos arbitration. 8 Whiteman, Digest of International Law 801-804.
- e. Nationality requirement, United States position. 8 Whiteman, Digest of International Law
1233 & 1243; 1978 Digest of United States Practice in International Law 1207-1208.
- f. Nottebohm Case (Liechtenstein v. Guatemala), [1955] I.C.J. Rep. 4 (International Court of
Justice).
- f. A Brief Introduction to the Law of Treaties.
- 1. General discussion and relation of treaties to custom.
- 4. Reservations to the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of
Genocide, [1951] I.C.J. 15 (Advisory Opinion).
- 6. Invalidity and termination.
III. USING INTERNATIONAL LAW AS A RULE OF DECISION IN UNITED STATES
COURTS
- a. International Law as a canon of construction.
- United States v. Palestine Liberation Organization, 695 F.Supp. 1456 (S.D.N.Y. 1988)
- b. International Law as a Part of Common Law.
- 1. New Jersey v. Delaware, 291 U.S. 352 (1934).
- 2. The Paquete Habana, 175 U.S. 677 (1900).
- c. Treaties as "law of the land" under the Constitution.
- 1. Asakura v. City of Seattle, 265 U.S. 332 (1924).
- 2. Sei Fujii v. California, 242 P.2d 617 (Calif. 1952).
- 3. Diggs v. Shultz, 470 F.2d 461 (D.C. Cir 1972)
- d. Incorporation of International Law by Statutory Reference.
- United States v. California, 381 U.S. 139 (1965).
IV. Specific Contexts in Which International Law May Apply in United States Courts.
- a. The United States as plaintiff (criminal cases).
- 1. United States v. Columba-Colella, 604 F.2d 356 (5th Cir. 1979).
- 2. Demjanjuk v. Petrovsky, 776 F.2d 571 (6th Cir. 1985)
- 3. United States v. Alvarez-Machain, 504 U.S. 655 (1992).
- 4. United States v. Postal, 589 F.2d 862 (5th Cir. 1979).
- 5. Prosecuting Terrorists: When Does Apprehension in Violation of International Law
Preclude Trial?, 42 Miami L. Rev. 447, 462-65 (1987).
- b. The United States as defendant (immigration law; challenges to foreign policy).
- 1. Rodriguez-Fernandez v. Wilkinson, 654 F.2d 1382 (10th Cir. 1981).
- 2. Jean v. Nelson, 727 F.2d 957 (11th Cir. 1984).
- c. Foreign states as plaintiffs (suits by foreign states in U.S. courts).
- 1. FRG v. Elicofon, 358 F.Supp. 747 (S.D. N.Y.), affirmed, 478 F.2d 231 (2d Cir. 1973), cert
denied, 415 U.S. 931 (1974).
- 2. FRG v. Elicofon, 14 I.L.M. 806 (E.D.N.Y. 1974).
- 3. Guaranty Trust Co. v. United States, 304 U.S. 126 (1938).
- d. Foreign states as defendants (suits against foreign states in U.S. courts).
- 1. Letelier v. Republic of Chile, 488 F.Supp. 665 (D.D.C. 1980).
- 2. Republic of Argentina v. Weltover, 504 U.S. 607 (1992).
- 3. Saudi Arabia v. Nelson, 113 S.Ct. 1471 (1993).
- 4. Letelier v. Republic of Chile, 748 F.2d 790 (2d Cir. 1984).
- e. States of the Union as Parties.
- Nevada v. Hall, 440 U.S. 410 (1979).
- f. Private suits (making service and obtaining evidence abroad).
- Societe Nationale Industrielle Aerospatiale v. U.S. District Court for the Southern District of
Iowa, 482 U.S. 522 (1987).
V. Foreign Affairs Law of the United States.
- a. Treaties and Federalism.
- 1. Missouri v. Holland, 252 U.S. 416 (1920).
- 2. Reid v. Covert, 354 U.S. 1 (1957).
- b. Treaties, Executive Agreements, and the Separation of Powers.
- 1. United States v. Pink, 315 U.S. 203 (1942).
- 2. United States v. Guy W. Capps, Inc., 204 F.2d 655 (4th Cir. 1953).
- 3. Goldwater v. Carter, 617 F.2d 697 (D.C. Cir. 1979).
- 4. Edwards v. Carter, 580 F.2d 1055 (D.C. Cir. 1978).
- 5. Dames & Moore v. Regan, 453 U.S. 654 (1981).
- c. The Act of State Doctrine.
- 1. Banco Nacional de Cuba v. Sabbatino, 376 U.S. 398 (1964).
- 2. The Hickenlooper Amendments.
- 3. First National City Bank v. Banco Nacional de Cuba, 406 U.S. 759 (1972).
- 4. Alfred Dunhill of London, Inc. v. Cuba, 425 U.S. 682 (1976).
- 5. Kalamazoo Spice Extraction Co. v. Ethiopia, 729 F.2d 422 (6th Cir. 1984).
- 6. W.S. Kirkpatrick & Co. v. Environmental Tectonics Corp., 493 U.S. 400 (1990)
- 1. Hilton v. Guyot, 159 U.S. 113 (1894)
- 2. Allied Bank International v. Banco Credito Agricola De Cartago, 733 F.2d (advance sheet)
23, 10 Md. J. Int'l L. & Trade 48 (2d Cir. Apr. 23, 1984), vacated on rehearing, 757 F.2d 516
(1984), cert. dismissed, 473 U.S. 934 (1985).
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