Page 148 - Law of Peace, Volume ,
P. 148

Pam 27-161-1

           U.S.  356 [75 S.Ct. 423, 99 L.U. 3891 (1956),  in which the Supreme   tention that the company and its predecessors never had
           Court held that the protection of sovereign immunity is waived when a   the legal right to take out oil. All legal remedies in Peru
           foreign sovereign enters a U.S. court as plaintiff. While the Court did   were exhausted, and the offset was not acceptable to the
         '  not deal with the act of state doctrine, the basic premise of that case-
           that a sovereign entering court as plaintiff opens itself to counterclaims,   claimant or to the United States, on ground that seem, at
           up to the amount of the original claim, which could be brought against it   the very least, reasonably arguable. However, subsection
           by that defendant were the sovereign an ordinary plaintiff--is  applicable   (e)(1) was not formally applied. Within the first 6 months
           by  analogy to the situation presented in the present case.   after  the  taking,  while  efforts at  diplomatic  settlement
             In  this case,  the Cuban government's  claim arose from a banking   were still in progress, the executive branch consulted with
           relationship with the defendant existing at the time the act of state-ex-
           propriation of defendant's  Cuban property-occurred, and defendant's   key  congressional figures and obtained their tacit agree-
           counterclaim is limited to the amount of the Cuban government's claim.   ment for nonapplication. A major reason for this informal
           We fmd, moreover, that the foreign policy interests of the United States   amendment in the law is that subsection (e) (1), if used,
           do not require the application of the act of state doctrine to bar adjudica-   would  have  serious  adverse  effects  on  United  States
           tion of the validity of a defendant's counterclaim or set-off against the   foreign policy and possibly on private interests of  other
           Government of Cuba in these circumstances.
            The Department of State believes that the act of state doctrine should   Americans in Peru and elsewhere. Subsection (e) (1) has,
           not be applied to bar consideration of a defendant's counterclaim or set-   as a matter of fact, been used only once, with indifferent
           off against the Government of Cuba in this or like cases.   results as to its investment-protection objective. 118
           7-29.  Practical Effects  of  the  Hickenlooper  Amend-  c.  Although  the  amendment  has not  been  invoked,
           ment.  a.  Legislative constraints. The  Hickenlooper   both  Peru  and  Chile have complained  that  the United
           Amendment's requirement that the President be satisfied   States has not  in fact entered into new bilateral aid  ar-
           within 6 months of an assured solution to a nationalization   rangements with  them  and  has  opposed  international
           problem has created foreign affairs problems under sub-   lending agency development assistance to them. The con-
           section  (e) (1), which  requires  the President  to  cut  off   duct was labeled as "illicit  intervention."
           foreign assistance to  the developing country concerned.   7-30.  Conclusion.  As noted  in  the  introductory  para-
           Under some other provisions of Section 2370, which lists   graphs of this chapter, the concept of state responsibility is
           a number of instances in which foreign assistance shall be   currently undergoing substantial rnocl%cation in response
           suspended, the President has authority to waive suspen-   to vary pressures emanating from a number of different
           sion when he frnds that it is in the foreign policy interests   sources.  New  approaches  toward  old  problems  have
           of the United States to do so. However, such is not the   resulted  in  the  realization  that  some  degree  of  com-
           case with regard to subsection (e) (1).              promise must be reached among those states advocating
             b.  Examples. In  1968, a military regime in Peru na-   widely divergent views in this area. As solutions to cur-
           tionalized the properties of  the International Petroleum   rently existing differences are found, however, the rules
           Company, entitled in its own right or through its parent,   of law associated with this aspect of international jurispru-
           the  Standard Oil Company  of  New  Jersey,  to  United   dence will become even more important to the judicial
           States diplomatic protection. Peru set off against any com-   and economic development of the world community.
           pensation that otherwise might have been payable a much
           larger claim for "unjust  enrichment,"  based upon a con-   118..  Thii was invoked against Ceylon.
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