The document summarizes a presentation by Haley S. Anderson from UC Berkeley on distinguishing between foreign corporations and foreign states in US courts. It discusses how the doctrines of personal jurisdiction, service of process, and injunctive relief are applied differently to foreign corporations versus foreign states. Anderson analyzes different theories of sovereignty and their consistency with the distinct treatment of foreign corporations and foreign states. The presentation concludes by arguing for an approach grounded in international law that recognizes sovereign equality, territorial inviolability, and reserved matters of states.

1. The Doctrine of Sovereign
Distinction
Haley S. Anderson, UC Berkeley
ASIL Research Forum, November 11, 2021
@h_s_anderson
Slides:

2. Making Sense of Foreign
Corporations and Foreign
States in U.S. Courts
@h_s_anderson
Slides: bit.ly/hsa-sovereignty-2021 1

3. @h_s_anderson
Slides: bit.ly/hsa-sovereignty-2021
Foreign Corporations vs. Foreign States
2

4. What’s a sovereign
again?
No clue.
@h_s_anderson
Slides: bit.ly/hsa-sovereignty-2021 3

5. Personal jurisdiction
Service of process
Injunctive relief
Domains
@h_s_anderson
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6. Foreign Sovereign Immunity
◦ Historical position: absolute immunity (see, e.g., Schooner Exchange v. McFaddon)
◦ Tate Letter (1952): “restrictive theory”
◦ Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (1976)
@h_s_anderson
Slides: bit.ly/hsa-sovereignty-2021 5

7. Personal jurisdiction
Service of process
Injunctive relief
Domains
@h_s_anderson
Slides: bit.ly/hsa-sovereignty-2021 6

8. Personal Jurisdiction
Foreign Corporations
◦ Due process protections
Constitutional test
◦ Minimum contacts test from International Shoe
(specific jurisdiction)
OR
◦ At home test from Daimler (general jurisdiction)
Foreign States
◦ No due process protections
FSIA § 1330(b)
◦ Exception to immunity, which creates subject-
matter jurisdiction
+
◦ Appropriate service of process
@h_s_anderson
Slides: bit.ly/hsa-sovereignty-2021 7

9. Service of Process
Foreign Corporations
◦ Can serve domestic subsidiary
◦ Wholly owned and controlled (Volkswagen v.
Schlunk)
◦ Agent or alter ego
Foreign States
◦ Cannot serve embassy in the U.S. (Sudan v.
Harrison)
◦ Available methods listed in FSIA § 1608
What makes an embassy different from a corporate subsidiary?
@h_s_anderson
Slides: bit.ly/hsa-sovereignty-2021 8

10. Injunctive Relief
Foreign Corporations
◦ “extraordinary remedy never awarded as of right” (Winter
v. NRDC)
◦ Preliminary injunction considerations
◦ Likelihood of success on merits
◦ Irreparable harm
◦ Balance of equities
◦ Public interest
◦ Hesitation caused by
◦ Need for extensive supervision
◦ Low prospect for compliance
◦ Extraterritoriality
Foreign States
◦ … Same
◦ See, e.g., NML Capital v. Argentina
@h_s_anderson
Slides: bit.ly/hsa-sovereignty-2021 9

11. Attempting to Make
Sense,
Or
Trying on Theories of Sovereignty
@h_s_anderson
Slides: bit.ly/hsa-sovereignty-2021 10

12. 1. Equality
2. Authority
3. Territory
4. Publicness
5. Power
@h_s_anderson
Slides: bit.ly/hsa-sovereignty-2021 11

13. 1. Sovereignty as Equality
◦ Personal jurisdiction
◦ Service of process
◦ Injunctive relief
not consistent
not consistent
consistent
@h_s_anderson
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14. 2. Sovereignty as Authority
◦ Personal jurisdiction
◦ Service of process
◦ Injunctive relief
consistent
consistent
not consistent
@h_s_anderson
Slides: bit.ly/hsa-sovereignty-2021 13

15. 3. Sovereignty as Territory
◦ Personal jurisdiction
◦ Service of process
◦ Injunctive relief not consistent
not consistent
not consistent
@h_s_anderson
Slides: bit.ly/hsa-sovereignty-2021 14

16. 4. Sovereignty as Publicness
◦ Personal jurisdiction
◦ Service of process
◦ Injunctive relief not consistent
not consistent
not consistent
@h_s_anderson
Slides: bit.ly/hsa-sovereignty-2021 15

17. 5. Sovereignty as Power
◦ Personal jurisdiction
◦ Service of process
◦ Injunctive relief
Some States are more
sovereign than others.
consistent
consistent
consistent
@h_s_anderson
Slides: bit.ly/hsa-sovereignty-2021 16

18. Drawing from
International Law
A Grounded
Theory of
Sovereign
Distinction
@h_s_anderson
Slides: bit.ly/hsa-sovereignty-2021 17

19. Sovereign equality
Territorial inviolability
Domaines réservés
Features of Sovereignty from International Law
@h_s_anderson
Slides: bit.ly/hsa-sovereignty-2021 18

20. Personal Jurisdiction
Protections for foreign States that are at least as strong as protections for foreign corporations.
◦ Formal equality of forum State and foreign State and inequality with private entities
◦ Drawing one territorial entity into another
◦ Better comporting with international legal limits on exercise of civil jurisdiction
@h_s_anderson
Slides: bit.ly/hsa-sovereignty-2021 19

21. Service of Process
Purposive rethinking of subsidiary entities.
◦ Service’s communicative purpose
◦ Comparative territorial protections of embassies and States’ primary territories
@h_s_anderson
Slides: bit.ly/hsa-sovereignty-2021 20

22. Injunctive Relief
Heightened requirements for or prohibition on injunctive relief against foreign State defendants.
◦ Orders reaching into a foreign State’s territory
◦ Requiring action within a core sovereign domain
@h_s_anderson
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23. Thank you!
Questions?
@h_s_anderson
Slides: bit.ly/hsa-sovereignty-2021 22