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Keywords

plaintiffappealtreaty
plaintiffinternational law

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Diggs v. Richardson, 555 F.2d 848, 42 A.L.R. Fed. 571, 180 U.S.App.D.C. 376

Facts

The plaintiffs, including American citizens denied admission to Namibia, sought declaratory and injunctive relief against the U.S. government for its dealings with South Africa regarding the importation of seal furs from Namibia. They argued that these dealings violated U.N. Security Council Resolution 301, which declared South Africa's presence in Namibia a breach of international obligations. The government contended that the plaintiffs lacked standing and that the resolution was not legally binding or self-executing.

Plaintiffs have adduced correspondence between officials of the State Department and Department of Commerce in which the State Department officials repeatedly state that the United States accepts U.N. Resolution 301 as a correct statement of our obligations under international law.

Issue

Whether the provisions of U.N. Security Council Resolution 301 are self-executing and confer enforceable rights on U.S. citizens in domestic courts.

Plaintiffs contend that this resolution states a binding international obligation of the United States and further contend that the Resolution is self-executing that, without further legislative or executive action, it has become a part of our judicially enforceable domestic law.

Rule

A treaty or international resolution is self-executing only if it explicitly confers rights upon individuals that can be enforced in domestic courts without further legislative action.

Whether an international agreement of the United States is self-executing is a matter of interpretation to be determined by the courts.

Analysis

The court analyzed the language of U.N. Security Council Resolution 301 and determined that it did not confer rights upon individual citizens but rather called upon governments to act. The resolution's provisions were found to deal with foreign relations, an area traditionally left to executive discretion, and lacked specific standards for judicial enforcement. The court concluded that without implementing legislation, the resolution could not create enforceable rights for U.S. citizens.

Applying this kind of analysis to the particular Security Council Resolution on which plaintiffs rely, we find that the provisions here in issue were not addressed to the judicial branch of our government.

Conclusion

The Court of Appeals affirmed the district court's dismissal of the suit, concluding that the U.N. resolution did not confer judicially enforceable rights on U.S. citizens.

Affirmed.

Who won?

The United States government prevailed in the case because the court found that the U.N. Security Council resolution was not self-executing and did not provide enforceable rights to the plaintiffs.

The Government also argues that this case raises a political question not appropriate for judicial resolution.

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