A Primer on International Comity
The Supreme Court in Hilton v. Guyot (1895) famously defined international comity as “the recognition which one nation allows within its territory to the legislative, executive or judicial acts of another nation.” That definition is incomplete, however, as comity encompasses much more than the recognition of foreign acts. The Restatement (Fourth) of Foreign Relations Law…
Continue ReadingThe Political Question Doctrine in the Lower Courts
Curt Bradley and Eric Posner have posted to SSRN a fascinating new paper about the political question doctrine. In The Real Political Question Doctrine, they take an empirical look at cases applying the doctrine in the lower federal courts since the Supreme Court’s 1962 decision in Baker v. Carr. Among other things, they find that…
Continue ReadingHow Do Federal Courts Treat Foreign Parallel Litigation?
The Supreme Court has not explained how federal judges should evaluate parallel litigation in foreign courts. If the same parties are litigating the same issues before a foreign tribunal, should the federal court stay its hand? Or should it proceed until one or the other of the cases results in a judgment? The traditional European…
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