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Section 11. STATE RESPONSIBII JTY FOR INJURIES TO ALIENS
7-3. Injury to Aliens. What acts or omissions committed discussed in terms of both an international standard of
by a state or its citizens against private or corporate aliens justice and the principle of equality of treatment.
located within its territory constitute a violation of interna- 7-6. The International Standard of Justice. a. The
tional law resulting in an indirect injury to the aliens' state arguments set forth by those who insist upon the existence
of nationality? As a result of the several different ap- of an international standard of justice applicable to aliens
proaches toward international law discussed in chapter 1, are best represented in a statement by former Secretary of
there exists a diversity of opinion regarding the proper State, Elihu Root:
response to this question. Before focusing on these differ- . . .Each country is bound to give to the nationals of another country in
ing views, it is necessary to examine briefly the status of its tenitory the benefit of the same laws, the same administration, the
aliens under current international norms. same protection, and the same redress for injury which it gives to its
own citizens, and neither more nor less: provided the protection which
7-4. The Status of Aliens Under International Law. a.
the country gives to its own citizens conforms to the established stand-
General. Under ordinary circumstances and in the ab- ard of civilization.
sence of an international agreement to the contrary, a There is a standard of justice, very fundamental, and of such general
state is under no duty to admit nationals of another state acceptance by all civilized countries as to form a part of the international
into its territory and incurs no international responsibility law of the world. The condition upon which any country is entitled to
if it deports them. 6 If aliens are admitted, they may be measure the justice due from it to an alien by the justice which it accords
to its own citizens is that its system of law and administration shall con-
subjected to restrictions on the duration of their stay, form to this general standard. If any country's system of law and admin-
where they may travel, and in what activities they may istration does not conform to that standard, although the people of the
engage. Moreover, a national of one state who comes country may be content or compelled to live under it, no other country
within the territorial jurisdiction of another, whether as a can be compelled to accept it as furnishing a satisfactory measure of
treatment to its citizens. .. .
transient or as a permanent resident, becomes subject
. . .The foreigner is entitled to have the protection and redress which
generally to the legal regime applicable to nationals of that the citizen is entitled to have, and the fact that the citizen may not have
state. For example, aliens can be excluded from engag- insisted upon his rights, and may be content with lax administration
ing in various commercial or other gainful activity, from which fails to secure them to him, furnishes no reason why the
owning real property, from such civil and political rights as foreigner should not insist upon them and no excuse for denying them
the right to vote or to hold public office, and from such to him. 8
duties as fulfiing military service obligation. The admis- Mr. Root's statement, though issued in 1910, still reflects
sion of aliens into a state likewise gives rise to certain cor- the U.S. and Western European view toward the interna-
relative rights and duties. The alien has a right to the pro- tionally imposed standard of treatment for aliens. These
tection of the local law. He owes a duty to observe that law proponents of an international standard argue that some
and assumes a relationship toward the state of his resi- form of uniform protection must exist if private and cor+
dence sometimes referred to as "temporary allegiance." porate citizens are to be safe in their travel and business
While the state has the right to expect the alien to observe activities.
its laws, it also has an obligation to give him the degree of b. The Harry Roberts Claim. One of the decisions most
protection for his person and property which he and his widely cited by advocates of the international standard of
state have the right to expect under local law, under inter- justice is The Harry Roberts Claim. 9 This particular ar-
national law, and under treaties and conventions between bitrational award involved a claim presented by the
his state and the state of residence. 7 United States on behalf of an American citizen who was
b. It is precisely the question of exactly what rights and arbitrarily and illegally arrested by Mexican authorities
protections are afforded aliens under international law that and held prisoner for an excessively long period in viola-
is the most controversial aspect of state responsibility. As tion of the Mexican Constitution. The evidence showed
noted above, conflicting views exist with regard to the that the jail in which Roberts was kept was a room 35 feet
legally imposed degree of responsibility which a state must long and 20 feet wide with stone walls, earthen floor,
bear as a member of the international community. To straw roof, a single window, a single door, and no sanitary
what extent must it guarantee the rights of aliens? To accommodations. Thirty to forty men were placed in this
what degree must it "protect" resident aliens? single room and were not provided with facilities to clean
7-5. Degree of State Responsibility to Aliens: Conflict- themselves. The prisoners were afforded no opportunity
ing Views. Inherent in the controversy surrounding the to take physical exercise and the food given them was
subject of state responsibility is the disparity of views scarce, unclean, and coarse. On behalf of Mexico it was
regarding the rights and protections that must be accorded argued that Roberts was accorded the same treatment as
private and corporate aliens. These views are generally
8. Proceedings of the American Sociew of International Law 20-22
6. A recent example of this was the deportation of Asians from (1910).
Uganda in 1972. 9. The Hany Roberts Claim (United States v. Mexico), United
7. 5 G. Hackworth, Digest of International Law, 471-72 (1943) States and Mexico General Claims Commission 1926, 4 U.N.R.I.A.A.
[hereinafter cited as 5 Hackworth]. 77 (1927).