WRIGHT— POWER TO MEET RESPONSIBILITIES. 291 



tion, salvage, or damages, this does not extend to criminal jurisdic- 

 tion against persons.^"- As with offenses committed on land, so 

 offenses at sea are only cognizable when specifically defined by stat- 

 ute. The court has held, however, that the phrase " piracy as de- 

 fined l)y the law of nations," is sufficiently explicit to give jurisdic- 

 tion over this oft'ense.^°^ 



133. Civil Jurisdiction of Federal Courts in Cases Affecting Aliens. 



Due diligence in the enforcement of international law requires 

 that justice be assured to aliens in their claims against private indi- 

 viduals arising within the jurisdiction whether resting on contract 

 or tort. This does not mean that aliens are exempt from the law 

 of the land with reference to such claims. It does mean, however, 

 that (i) the law shall not be unreasonably discriminatory against 

 them, (2) that courts exist and proceed in a manner to give them 

 reasonable assurance of an impartial application of the law, and (3) 

 that they are accorded opportunity to invoke the aid of the courts 

 in settlement of their controversies. ^°* The constitutional guarantees 

 of due process of law to all " persons " within the jurisdiction, aliens 

 as well as citizens, as judicially interpreted and enforced against both 

 state legislatures and Congress, seem to insure against unreasonably 

 discriminatory laws.^*'^ These guarantees as well as the constitu- 

 tional provisions designed to assure the independence of the courts, 

 such as those giving security of tenure and compensation, together 

 with the respectable traditions of common law judicial procedure, 

 tend also to give confidence in a fair procedure.^°^ 



By permitting aliens to bring their suits against individuals before 

 such courts, the United States will generally be exerting due dili- 

 gence and no international claim can be made, whatever the decision 

 of the court, unless the subject matter is controlled by international 

 law. The state courts usually have common law jurisdiction and 

 are open to both aliens and foreign states in all cases not made ex- 



102 The Estrella, 4 Wheat. 298, 311. 



103 U. S. V. Smith, 5 Wheat. 153 (1820). 



104 Borchard, op. cit., pp. 330, 335; Moore, Digest, 6: 267, 280. 



105 U. S. Const. Am. V, XIV. 

 -^^^Ibid., Art. Ill, sec. i. 



PROC. AMER. PHIL. SOC, VOL. LX., T, MARCH II, I922. 



