As used in this article, the term Department of State does not include the Agency for International Development or the Peace Corps. Although these agencies are technically under the Department`s command and direction of the Secretary of State, their operations are largely independent and have separate legal staff. 43 Despite the feeling that office counsel should “stay away from politics,” in practice, most political clients expect their lawyers to contribute ideas or, at the very least, help the client think about theirs. Experienced foreign service officials use their lawyer`s sensitivity to facts, the habit of thinking about contingencies and the ability to anticipate consequences. However, as has often been pointed out, there can be an innate difference in approach between lawyer and manager, which can sometimes lead to different views on policy. While the lawyer tends to think in terms of precedents, adherence to general principles and precise formulation of obligations, the operations manager often thinks in relation to the individual situation before him, ad hoc decisions and maintaining maximum flexibility and freedom of action in future situations. 80 The jurisdiction of the United States extends to cases of law and equity arising from treaties concluded under the authority of the Constitution of the United States (Article III, § 2(1)). The Judicial Code contains a number of provisions that confer jurisdiction on federal courts in contractual and international matters. For the Supreme Court, see 28 U.S.C. 1251, 1254 and 1257.
For district courts, generally see 28 U.S.C. 1331, 1332, 1350, 1351, and 1441. For actions against the United States, see 28 U.S.C. 1346, 1491, 1502, and 2502. And see Morse, “The Jurisdiction of the Court of Claims and Claims of International Import,” 1957 Wisconsin Law Rev. 222 (1957)Google Scholar; and Domke, “Access to American Courts by Foreigners,” 1957 Proceedings, ABA Section on Int. and Comp. Law 23.75 Congress has also declared that “it is the policy of the United States to settle and settle its international disputes by mediation or arbitration, so that war may be honorably avoided.” (22 U.S.C. 261). The obligations for the peaceful settlement of disputes are also set out in art.
2(3) and 33 of the Charter of the United Nations. A complete list of “Texts Governing the Jurisdiction of I C J” is available at Chapter X, [1960-1961] I.C.J. Yearbook 189-347. Indeed, these issues are often satisfactorily resolved through diplomatic channels, except in cases such as Cuba and various countries of the Sino-Soviet bloc, where political difficulties may, at least temporarily, undermine the practical effectiveness of diplomatic measures. For Cuban claims, see the State Department memo, reproduced in the “Contemporary Practice” section, 56 A.J.I.L. 166–167 (1962). In the case of Yugoslavia, Romania and Poland, the Department has entered into agreements for the settlement of so-called “lump sum” claims. See generally the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949, as amended (22 U.S.C. 1621 et seq.); A.L.I.
Restatement, Reporter`s Note on “Claims settlement Agreements of the United States and the Work of the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission”, Abschnitt 219, art. 731-732; Rode, “The International Claims Commission of the United States,” 47 A.J.I.L. 615 (1953)Google Scholar; Objet: « Commission de règlement des revendications étrangères », art. 728, below; Christenson, « The United States-Romania Claims Settlement Agreement of March 30, 1960 », 55 A.J.I.L. 617 (1961)Google Scholar; Lillich, International Claims: Their Adjudication by National Commissions (1962); and see generally among the many works on nationalization issues Domke, « Foreign Nationalizations », 55 A.J.I.L. 585 (1961)Google Scholar. Another interesting aspect of this problem is illustrated by material contained in the report of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations on the ratification of the Convention establishing the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (87th Congress, 1st Session, Exec. 1, 8 Mars 1961). Comme il y est indiqué, à propos de ces auditions, le Conseiller juridique a dû faire une déclaration à la demande du Comité déclarant : ». rien dans la Convention. gives the executive branch the power to bind the United States on material matters beyond what the executive branch currently has, or Congress to take action in areas that were not previously within the power of Congress. Conversely, nothing in the Convention diminishes the power of the executive or Congress in this regard.
letter of 6 March 1961, p. 20 of the report; and see “Contemporary Practice,” 55 A.J.I.L. 697 (1961). 11 The Office`s tasks as `judge` and `expert in international law` are discussed in more detail below in the sections dealing with the Office`s relations with courts and general practitioners.