Subject Matter Jurisdiction in United States

Main US Decisions:

1. Aquamar v. Del Monte Fresh Produce
2. Ross v. Rittenhouse
3. Chisholm, Ex’r. v. Georgia
4. Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
5. In Re DRAM
6. Lopez v. Gonzales
7. Taveres v. Tavaraz
8. Sinochem International Co v. Malaysia International S
9. Khulumani v. Barclay National Bank Ltd
10. Corrie v. Caterpillar
11. Cornejo v. County of San Diego
12. Cisneros v. Aragon
13. Auster v. Ghana Airways
14. Harbury v. Hayden
15. Gandara v. Bennett

Subject-Matter Jurisdiction in the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976

In the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act of 1976

According to research about Subject-Matter Jurisdiction from the Federal Judicial Center:Under 28 U.S.C. § 1330(a), federal district courts have original jurisdiction without regard to amount in controversy of any nonjury civil action against a foreign state as defined in section 1603(a) of this title as to any claim for relief in personam with respect to which the foreign state is not entitled to immunity either under sections 1605– 1607 of this title or under any applicable international agreement.25 Accordingly, in order to ascertain whether it has subject-matter jurisdiction, a court must first determine whether the defendant meets the definition of “foreign state” in § 1603(a) and then whether the claim falls within one of the stated exceptions to immunity under § 1605(a) or § 1605A. If the defendant qualifies and no exception applies, it is immune and the court lacks both personal and subject-matter jurisdiction (even if proper service has been made). In contrast, if the claim falls within an exception to immunity (and if proper service has been made), the court has personal and subject-matter jurisdiction. This unusual formula—conditioning subject-matter jurisdiction on the absence of immunity—creates some unique consequences, the most important of which is that it imposes an obligation on the court to determine the question of immunity as a first order of business in all cases. “[E]ven if the foreign state does not enter an appearance to assert an immunity defense, a District Court still must determine that immunity is unavailable under this Act.”26 At the same time, because immunity can be waived (see discussion of § 1605(a)(1) in Part V.A infra), a foreign state defendant in effect has the ability to provide the court with “subject-matter jurisdiction” it might otherwise lack in the given case.

Personal and Subject Matter Jurisdiction Compared

There is some information in the United States Procedure Law section of this American Legal Encyclopedia about Personal and Subject Matter Jurisdiction Compared. For a wide overview, read about Choosing a Propert Court

Subject Matter Jurisdiction (Jurisdiction)

This section introduces, discusses and describes the basics of subject matter jurisdiction. Then, cross references and a brief overview about Jurisdiction is provided. Finally, the subject of Civil Procedure in relation with subject matter jurisdiction is examined. Note that a list of cross references, bibliography and other resources appears at the end of this entry.

Resources

See Also

Popular Topics related with Subject-Matter Jurisdiction

• Arbitration Immunity
• Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act Instrumentality
• Foreign Sovereign Immunity
• Immunities Clause
• Immunities of International Organizations
• Immunity Means
• Immunity Specialized Agencies