Underhill v. Hernandez case brief, 168 US 250 (1897)

Underhill v. Hernandez
168 US 250 (1897)

“Every sovereign State is bound to respect the independence of every other sovereign State, and the courts of one country will not sit in judgment on the acts of the government of another done within its own territory. Redress of grievances by reason of such acts must be obtained through the means open to be availed of by sovereign powers as between themselves.”
Format for determining whether suit can be brought against a foreign state:

1)    Apply the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act:

1. Is the defendant a foreign state?
2. Do any of the FSIA exceptions apply in the case at bar?

2)    Apply the Act of State Doctrine:

1. Ask: Does the outcome of the case turn on whether the court gives validity to the public act of a foreign state?
2. If the outcome of a case turns on the validity of the public act of a foreign state in its own territory, the court has to presume the act of state to be valid

The Act of State Doctrine is like a Choice of Law principle:
-       It is like a choice of law principle because the court is exercising jurisdiction over the foreign state but it is applying the law of the foreign state rather than domestic law.