Debunking the Seventeenth-Century “Roots” of Forum Non Conveniens
Courts and commentators will sometimes assert that forum non conveniens is an “ancient common law doctrine” that has “deep roots” tracing back to the 1600s. As I recount in a forthcoming book chapter, those assertions all appear to trace back to a 1947 law review article and the three Scottish cases on which the author…
Continue ReadingInternational Law in American Courts
In a new book, International Law in American Courts, slated for publication in Summer 2025, I address the status of international law in American courts under the Constitution and the power of those courts directly to apply rules of international law. Readers can find the full manuscript on SSRN here. In this post, I summarize…
Continue ReadingThrowback Thursday: Professor William Casto on the Origins of the Alien Tort Statute
In the spring of 1986, Professor William Casto published an article in the Connecticut Law Review entitled The Federal Courts’ Protective Jurisdiction Over Torts Committed in Violation of the Law of Nations. Casto’s article was the first to explore the origins of the Alien Tort Statute (ATS) in detail, and despite the many law reviewpages…
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