Seantae Read
Business Law
Chapter 25 Review
1. Comity means politeness or mutual courtesy. Under the principle of comity, one
nation will defer to and give effect to the laws and judicial decrees of another
country as long as they are consistent with the law and public policy of the
accommodating nation as a matter of courtesy and respect rather than out of
obligation. American courts usually recognize the judicial decisions of another
country if it is determined that the judicial procedures of that country are
substantially fair.
2. The Act of State Doctrine provides that the judicial branch of one country will not
examine the validity of public acts of committed by recognized foreign government
within its own territory. This doctrine is often used in cases involving:
Expropriation- A government’s seizure of a privately owned business or personal
property for a proper public purpose and with just compensation.
Confiscation- A government’s taking of a privately owned business or personal
property without a proper public purpose or an award of just compensation.
3. Under the FSIA, the defendant must first establish that it is a “Foreign State”, then
is entitled to sovereign immunity. The plaintiff must prove that one of the Act’s
exceptions to immunity apply. The most common exceptions are when the Foreign
State waives immunity or agrees to submit a dispute to arbitration, engages in a
