Home » Articles » The Dog that Caught the Car: Observations on the Past, Present, and Future Approaches of the
The Dog that Caught the Car: Observations on the Past, Present, and Future Approaches of the
PDF · John B. Bellinger III ·
Jun-25-2012 ·
44 VAND. J. TRANSNAT'L L. 819 (2011)
The Supreme Court’s decision in Samantar v. Yousuf vindicated the position of the State Department’s Office of the Legal Adviser, which had long argued that the immunities of current and former foreign government officials in U.S. courts are defined by common law and customary international law as articulated by the Executive branch, rather than by the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976. But the decision will place a burden on the Office of the Legal Adviser, which will now be asked to submit its views on the potential immunity of every foreign government official sued in the U.S. The State Department will be lobbied both by foreign governments who want to protect their officials and by plaintiffs and human rights advocates who would like to recognize exceptions to official immunities. In deciding whether to
recognize the immunities of foreign government officials, the State Department will have to consider the reciprocal impact on U.S. officials who may be sued in foreign courts.
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Announcements
The Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law hosted a symposium called “The Role of Non-State Actors in International Law” at Vanderbilt University Law School in February 2013. The October issue of the Journal will showcase articles by distinguished symposium guests including:
Mr. Ian Smillie, “Blood Diamonds and Non-State Actors”
Professor Jean d’Aspremont, “Cognitive Conflicts and the Making of International Law from Empirical Concord to Conceptual Discord in Legal Scholarship”
Professor Peter J. Spiro, “Constraining Global Corporate Power: A Very Short Introduction”
Professor Suzanne Katzenstein
Professor Peter Margulies
Professor Harlan G. Cohen
We are pleased to announce our annual award recipients for 2012-2013.
Masamichi Yamamoto Second-Year Editor Award: Kennedy Meier
Outstanding Third Year Editor Award: Alex Rinn
Grace Wilson Sims Medal in Transnational Law: Molly Chen
Grace Wilson Sims Prize for Student Writing in Transnational Law: Margaret Artz
Note Selections for 2013-14
The Publication Committee is pleased to announce the 2L student Notes selected for publication in the 2013-14 issues. Please follow this link: Note Selections for 2013
A special congratulations to Stella Forcehimes, who successfully “Noted-on” to the Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law. Please congratulate her if you see her around school.
The Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law is now ranked the 9th best international law journal according to the Washington & Lee School of Law Library Law Journal Rankings. For more information, please visit: Washington & Lee Journal Rankings
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Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals cites Head of State Immunity As Sole Executive Lawmaking by Lewis Yelin, written for the 2011 Vanderbilt Journal of Transnational Law Symposium: Foreign State Immunity at Home and Abroad. Yousuf v Samantar Opinion (4th Circuit)
Vanderbilt University law professor Ingrid Wuerth has been selected as a reporter for the Restatement (Fourth) of the Foreign Relations Law of the United States, published by the American Law Institute. She will work on the immunities chapters, along with David Stewart, a visiting professor of law at Georgetown Law and former State Department official.
View the most recent Jonathan I. Charney Distinguished Lecture in Public International Law, presented by Fatou B. Bensouda.
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