American Law of Nations

The book describes the peculiar way in which international law, encouraged by the Constitution, has been received into the law of the United States. Classical topics, considered from an American standpoint, follow: the character of states and governments, treaties, the jurisdiction of states, international organizations, the immunity of states, acts of state, comity, and so on. Attention is then paid to more modern subjects, including human rights, foreign exchange, and international commercial arbitration, the last a matter of practical importance that inhabits a borderland between public and private international law. The work introduces lawyers to the elements of public international law as declared chiefly by American federal appeals courts. Emphasis is given throughout to judicial decisions that can be called in aid by advocates. The hope is that lawyers working in American courts, at sea with questions of public international law, will find this handbook a safe port of entry.