When Should Federal Common Law Govern Transnational Litigation?
The conventional wisdom is that transnational litigation “can trigger foreign relations concerns.” Because the federal government has primary responsibility for the United States’ relations with other nations, the question naturally arises whether federal law should govern such litigation even when neither a federal statute, nor the U.S. Constitution, nor a treaty is applicable. Currently, as…
Continue ReadingA Primer on State Law in Transnational Litigation
[Editors: This post is one in a series of Primers on topics in transnational litigation. Primers on each of the topics listed in the Topics menu are planned, and some already appear on the relevant topic pages.] The procedural and substantive rules that U.S. courts apply in transnational litigation come from many sources, including the…
Continue ReadingThrowback Thursday: Joseph Story and the Comity of Nations
One of the most influential books on transnational litigation was written nearly two centuries ago by a sitting Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court. Joseph Story’s Commentaries on the Conflict of Laws, first published in 1834, synthesized foreign and domestic cases regarding conflict of laws and the enforcement of foreign judgments. Story endorsed international comity…
Continue ReadingRecent Scholarship on Foreign Judgments
Michael Solimine recently posted an interesting paper exploring the connection between party autonomy, on the one hand, and the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments, on the other. Solimine thoughtfully engages with the argument that private parties should be permitted to select, in advance, the law that will govern the recognition and enforcement of foreign…
Continue ReadingLitigating a Russian Bond Default
The Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the sanctions imposed in response by the United States and other governments, have fueled expectations of a Russian sovereign debt default. Despite the Russian government’s recent coupon payments on two dollar bonds and apparent desire to avoid default, prices remain in deeply distressed territory. As often happens in such…
Continue ReadingAn Insightful Post on a Recent Case
Ted Folkman has a post over at Letters Blogatory discussing a case – CDM Smith v. Atasi – decided by the Federal District Court for the District of of Massachusetts in March 2022. The court first considers whether a judgment rendered by the labor courts of Saudi Arabia is enforceable in Massachusetts. It then goes…
Continue ReadingUnited States Signs the Hague Judgments Convention
On March 2, 2022, the United States signed the Convention of July 2, 2019 on the Recognition and Enforcement of Foreign Judgments in Civil or Commercial Matters, better known as the Hague Judgments Convention. This post describes the Convention and next steps.
Continue ReadingA Primer on Foreign Judgments
In the United States, the recognition and enforcement of foreign-country judgments is generally governed by state law. Nevertheless, the law on foreign judgments is fairly uniform throughout the United States because most states have adopted one of two Uniform Acts. These Acts establish a presumption that final, conclusive, and enforceable foreign judgments are entitled to…
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