Also known as: comity · international comity
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A principle of international law by which one nation recognizes within its territory the legislative, executive, or judicial acts of another nation. Recognition occurs after weighing international duty and convenience against the recognizing nation's own interests and the rights of its citizens. The principle supplies no absolute obligation yet exceeds mere courtesy.
Cody Callahan faces state criminal charges in Georgia for organizing a protest at a power plant. He asks a federal district court to enjoin the prosecution on First Amendment grounds. The federal court declines to issue the injunction. It does so because the state proceeding is already underway and no bad-faith or flagrantly invalid statute appears.
Cecilia Cabrera sues in federal court on a federal labor claim and adds related state-law tort claims arising from the same workplace events. After the federal claim is dismissed, the court weighs whether to retain the state claims. It elects to dismiss them so that state courts may resolve purely local issues.
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Chloe Chen files a federal suit while a state disciplinary proceeding against her law license remains pending. The federal court stays its hand. It does so to avoid conflicting rulings and to allow the state tribunal that licensed her to address the conduct first.
Carmen Choi obtains a judgment in State A against a defendant whose property lies in State B. She seeks to enforce the judgment directly in State B. The State B court refuses automatic enforcement. It instead examines whether principles of comity warrant recognition of the foreign decree.
Cade Carpenter, a foreign plaintiff, sues a foreign corporation in U.S. court for conduct occurring entirely abroad. The court dismisses the action. It concludes that comity and the presumption against extraterritoriality counsel against exercising jurisdiction over foreign disputes.
Cynthia Cortez sues the State of Maine in federal court on a federal claim. Maine asserts sovereign immunity. The court dismisses the suit. It holds that comity and respect for state sovereignty bar the federal action absent clear congressional abrogation.
A federal court must abstain absent extraordinary circumstances such as bad-faith prosecution, harassment, or a statute that is flagrantly unconstitutional in all applications. The rule rests on principles of comity and federalism that protect state proceedings from premature federal interference.
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No. Recognition on the basis of comity remains discretionary. A tribunal may apply its own procedural and substantive rules when deciding whether to recognize and enforce a foreign support order.
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Once all federal claims are dismissed, a district court may decline supplemental jurisdiction over remaining state claims. Considerations of comity and judicial economy often favor dismissal so that state courts may decide purely local questions.
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…an elementary principle, that the laws of one State have no operation outside of its territory, except so far as is allowed by comity; and that no tribunal established by it can extend its process beyond that territory so as to subject either persons or property to its decisions. "Any exertion of authority of this sort…