1 Courts, Foreign Affairs, and the Structural Constitution
This chapter provides an overview of some of the constitutional, statutory, and common law doctrines that govern the adjudication of foreign affairs-related disputes in the United States. These doctrines include jurisdictional requirements, “justiciability” limitations such as the political question doctrine, the Erie doctrine concerning federal court application of state law, and the common law “act of state” doctrine. The chapter also discusses more general interpretive principles such as the Charming Betsy canon of construction and deference to the executive branch. The chapter concludes by describing the constitutional authority of U.S. government institutions other than the courts, including the situations in which state law that concerns foreign affairs will be preempted.