Asakura v. City of Seattle case brief

Asakura v. City of Seattle, 265 US 332 (1924).

• Plaintiff alleges that a Seattle ordinance regulating the business of pawnbroker violates a treaty
• plaintiff directly invokes a treaty provision (“…thou shalt not discriminate between the citizens of these two countries…”)in this case, which is before a US court; he can only do this if the treaty is self-executing
• how to determine whether the treaty is self-executing:
• look to the language to see if it says
• if the language is unclear, then look to the intent of the parties: look to the Senate (domestic legislation), presidential statements concerning the treaty
• The court implicitly ruled that the treaty was self-executing by finding that the local ordinance that violated the treaty was invalid
• Language indicating that the treaty is self-executing: “It operates of itself without the aid of any legislation…and it will be applied and given authoritative effect by the courts….”