Also known as: ius gentium · juris gentium · law of nations
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A body of law governing relations among sovereign states and between states and individuals. It originated in Roman law as the common law applicable to all peoples and later formed the foundation of customary international law.
Jordan Jenkins, a U.S. citizen, is charged in federal court after boarding a foreign-flagged vessel on the high seas and seizing cargo. Prosecutors invoke Congress's authority to punish offenses against the law of nations. The court upholds jurisdiction because the conduct falls within the constitutional grant to define and punish such offenses.
Juarez Holdings ships aircraft parts to a warring foreign nation despite a presidential proclamation barring such exports. The company challenges the order as lacking statutory basis. The court sustains the embargo as an exercise of inherent foreign-affairs power rooted in the law of nations.
Select any source to read its text and confirm it supports the definition.
Jacqueline Juarez, a U.S. citizen living abroad, is tried by court-martial under a status-of-forces agreement for murdering her husband. She argues the treaty cannot override constitutional jury-trial rights. The court holds that the law of nations embodied in the treaty yields to the Constitution.
Jason Jung, a foreign national, sues Jennings Forge in U.S. district court for alleged environmental harms committed entirely overseas. The company moves to dismiss for lack of extraterritorial reach. The court grants dismissal because the law of nations does not extend the statute to such foreign conduct.
Julia Jensen's company seeks recovery of assets seized by a foreign government. The defendant invokes the act-of-state doctrine. The court refuses to adjudicate the validity of the foreign expropriation because the law of nations commits such questions to the political branches.
Jose Jimenez, a U.S. supplier, sues the Central Bank of Nigeria for breach of a commercial letter of credit. The bank asserts sovereign immunity. The court denies immunity because the law of nations, as incorporated into federal common law, permits jurisdiction over commercial activity of foreign states.
Jus gentium was the body of law the praetor developed for disputes involving foreigners, drawn from principles common to all peoples rather than the rules peculiar to Roman citizens under jus civile.
Yes. Article I, Section 8 expressly authorizes Congress to define and punish offenses against the law of nations, including piracy and felonies on the high seas.
No. Even when a treaty incorporates principles of the law of nations, it cannot displace individual constitutional protections such as the right to a jury trial.
Federal courts have recognized that 28 U.S.C. § 1350 grants jurisdiction only for torts in violation of the law of nations, but the Supreme Court has limited its extraterritorial application to conduct with sufficient connection to the United States.
…a certain consideration, an alien . . . must be afforded protection for his person and property. . . . Every State is by the Law of Nations compelled to grant to aliens at least equality before the law with its citizens, as far as safety of person and property is concerned. An alien must in particular not be wronged in person…