Title: Response Essay – Loose Canons: International Law and Statutory Interpretation in the Twenty-First Century
Abstract: In the early years of the United States, the relationship between international law and statutory interpretation was relatively straightforward. The Supreme Court simply applied the Charming Betsy canon “that an act of Congress ought never to be construed to violate the law of nations if any other possible construction remains.” The presumption against extraterritoriality grew from the marriage of this canon to an international law rule that jurisdiction was territorial. During the twentieth century, the presumption against extraterritoriality separated from the Charming Betsy canon and came to rest on different justifications – first on comity and then on “the assumption that Congress is primarily concerned with domestic conditions.” But these canons remained relatively stable. Near the century's end, Justice Antonin Scalia would list just two principles of interpretation relevant to determining the extraterritorial reach of a statute: the presumption against extraterritoriality and the Charming Betsy canon.
Publication Year: 2011
Publication Date: 2011-04-25
Language: en
Type: book-chapter
Indexed In: ['crossref']
Access and Citation
Cited By Count: 1
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