Hilton v. Guyot

Hilton v. Guyot
Supreme Court of the United States
Argued April 10, 1894
Decided June 3, 1895
Full case nameHenry Hilton v. Gustave Bertin Guyot, et al.
Citations159 U.S. 113 (more)
16 S. Ct. 139; 40 L. Ed. 95; 1895 U.S. LEXIS 2294
Holding
The enforcement of a foreign judgment rests on whether there is comity with the jurisdiction from which it is issued, based on criteria articulated by the Court.
Court membership
Chief Justice
Melville Fuller
Associate Justices
Stephen J. Field · John M. Harlan
Horace Gray · David J. Brewer
Henry B. Brown · George Shiras Jr.
Howell E. Jackson · Edward D. White
Case opinions
MajorityGray, joined by Field, Brown, Shiras, White
DissentFuller, joined by Harlan, Brewer, Jackson

Hilton v. Guyot, 159 U.S. 113 (1895), was a United States Supreme Court case where the Court ruled that the recognition and enforceability of a foreign judgment rested on the "comity of nations," namely whether there would be any reciprocity and mutual recognition by the foreign jurisdiction from which the judgment was issued.[1]

Hilton established the fundamental basis for the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments in the United States,[2] remaining "the most detailed exposition of any American court" on this principle.[3] It is also viewed as the quintessential statement of comity in international law,[4] and is one of the earliest decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court to assert that international law is part of U.S. law.[5]

  1. ^ "Overview of U.S. Law - Proskauer on International Litigation and Arbitration". www.proskauerguide.com. Retrieved May 6, 2019.
  2. ^ David J. Levy, International Litigation: Defending and Suing Foreign Parties in U.S. Federal Courts (American Bar Association Tort Trial and Insurance Practice Section, 2003), p. 343, 346.
  3. ^ Levy, p. 343 (quoting Willis L. M. Reese, The Status in this Country of Judgments Rendered Abroad, 50 Columbia Law Review 783, 790 (1950))).
  4. ^ International Human Rights Litigation in U.S. Courts:, 2d rev. ed., p. 355.
  5. ^ Hilton v. Guyot, vol. 159, p. 113, retrieved May 6, 2019