International 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 ReadingA Roadmap to Service by Email
Federal courts have struggled with the question of when they can authorize service by email on a defendant located in a country that belongs to the Hague Service Convention—as we have explained in many prior posts. Though the interaction between the Convention and Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 4(f) can be tricky, there are clear…
Continue ReadingHistorical Gloss and the Extradition Power
In a recently-published book, “Historical Gloss and Foreign Affairs: Constitutional Authority in Practice,” I document how the foreign affairs powers of Congress and the executive branch have been heavily shaped by historic governmental practices, on issues ranging from the recognition of foreign governments to the use of military force. In this post, I discuss one…
Continue ReadingNew Essay on Anti-Enforcement Injunctions
In a symposium issue honoring Linda Silberman, the NYU Journal of International Law and Politics has just published an essay that Ralf Michaels and I wrote on anti-enforcement injunctions. In the United States, the best-known example of this type of order is the one entered by the Southern District of New York in the infamous…
Continue ReadingFrom Standards to Rules in Private International Law?
Linda Silberman, Clarence D. Ashley Professor of Law Emerita at NYU School of Law and TLB Advisor, has recently posted to SSRN a number of her lectures from her summer 2021 Hague Academy General Course in Private International Law, updated to reflect changes through 2024. The series of lectures, entitled The Counter-Revolution in Private International…
Continue ReadingNew Scholarship on State Laws Limiting the Activities of Foreigners
States are important actors in U.S. foreign relations. TLB has, for example, covered New Jersey’s efforts to sanction Russia, Florida’s restrictions on alien ownership of property, and state court litigation on climate change, as well as state procedural law on forum non-conveniens and other topics. In the near term, litigation that challenges state regulation…
Continue ReadingNew Article on Old Admiralty Discretion
The Notre Dame Law Review has just published my new article, “Admiralty, Abstention and the Allure of Old Cases.” The heart of the article is a description of the federal courts’ long-standing discretion to decline jurisdiction over admiralty disputes between foreign parties. Defendants in transnational cases have recently tried to invoke this old admiralty practice…
Continue ReadingHow Do Federal Courts Determine Foreign Law?
Sarah Alsaden has recently published her research on how federal district judges are determining the content of foreign law. Under Federal Rule of Civil Procedure 44.1, a federal court’s determination of foreign law is a question of law (not of fact), and “[i]n determining foreign law, the court may consider any relevant material or source,…
Continue ReadingZooming Out of Forum Non Conveniens
A recently published note in the Columbia Law Review, written by Christabel Narh, draws a connection between the federal courts’ technological learning curve during the pandemic and the future of forum non conveniens. Zooming Our Way Out of the Forum Non Conveniens Doctrine argues that the federal courts’ trial-by-fire with videoconferencing and remote litigation during…
Continue ReadingTwo Conflicts Events in Oregon in May
Willamette University College of Law will be hosting two events, back to back, in May that may be of interest to TLB readers. Fifty Years in the Conflicts Vineyard On May 8-9, 2024, Willamette University College of Law and the Conflict of Laws Section of the Association of American Law Schools will hold a symposium…
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