North America

In its current Term, the Supreme Court will address aspects of the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act for the first time since its decision in Saudi Arabia v. Nelson a decade earlier. [1]   Although the issues in Dole Food Company v. Patrickson appear technical, they are not without practical significance, and one of them raises profound questions about the nature of foreign sovereign immunity.

 

On November 10, 2003 the World Trade Organization Appellate Body issued its report in the complaint brought by Brazil, China, the European Communities, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Norway, and Switzerland against the US imposition of safeguard measures on certain steel products. [1] The Appellate Body upheld a prior Panel ruling that the US measures were inconsistent with the WTO Safeguards Agreement and GATT 1994. [2] Consequently the Appellate Body recommended that the WTO Dispute Settlement Body request the US to bring its measures into conformity. [3] [4]

In 1999 the Supreme Court of Canada held that same-sex couples must be granted essentially the same rights as married couples.  On June 10 of this year the Court of Appeal of Ontario held that gays have a right to get married. The constitutional basis for the decision lay in the principles of human dignity and anti-discrimination. The federal government decided not to appeal this and similar cases, but instead to institute legislation toward the same effect.  Questions arise about the impact these developments might have on the gay community in the United States.