Survey of 1997 Developments in International Law in Connecticut
| Publication year | 2021 |
| Pages | 364 |
72 CBJ 364. Survey of 1997 Developments in International Law in Connecticut
Once again, the number of cases involving international law increased. Prominent among the topics of 1997 decisions were extradition and arbitration. Several matters involved Hong Kong and its transfer from British control to the People's Republic of China. I.
A. Involuntary Liquidation of Foreign Banks' Assets
New legislation gave the Banking Commissioner strong powers to protect Connecticut creditors of foreign banks by taking control of their in-state assets and applying those assets to the claims of in-state creditors before releasing the excess, if any, for other purposes. (fn1) However, a notable provision of this law significantly limits the setoff rights of creditors of foreign banks:
[N]o person may set off the business and property in this state of a foreign bank against liabilities of such foreign bank other than those that arise out of transactions entered into by such person with the state branch or state agency of the foreign bank in this state .... (fn2)
The purpose of this is to protect the in-state assets for application by the Commissioner to in-state claims, but after paying or providing for those claims, the Commissioner is required to turn over the remaining assets to the principal office of the foreign bank or to its liquidator or receiver. (fn3) The unfortunate result may be that some creditors who expected to have the benefit of setoff in Connecticut will find themselves in the queue of unsecured creditors in another part of the world.
B. Trade with Africa
While bills to promote trade with Africa, notably by expanding the categories of duty-free imports, languished in Congress, (fn4) the Connecticut legislature took a symbolic step. Promotion of Connecticut trade with Africa may be given priority by the Department of Economic and Community Development under a new law (fn5) that appears to have no counterpart. authorizing priority treatment for any other region of the world. To allay fears that this state policy might conflict with national policies, such as the sanctions against Libya, (fn6) Substitute Senate Bill No. 1098 was amended to limit the priority to "African countries with whom the United States has diplomatic relations."
C. Victims of International Terrorism
A modification of General Statutes Sections 54-209 and 54-211 (fn7) now allows victims of international terrorism' to be compensated by the Connecticut Office of Victim Services. Compensation can be awarded for such an act of terrorism committed anywhere in the world, provided the victim was a Connecticut resident at the time of injury or death.
D. Permanent Deportation of P7isoners
Public Act 95-162, now Section 18-26a of the General Statutes, provides:
(a) The Board of Pardons shall enter into an agreement with the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service for the deportation of persons incarcerated in correctional facilities in the state who are aliens upon the conditioned commutation of their punishment by said board.
(b) The Board of Pardons may grant a commutation of punishment in the case of any person incarcerated in a correctional facility in the state who is an alien and transfer such person to the United States Immigration and Naturalization Service for deportation in accordance with the agreement entered into pursuant to subsection (a) of this section provided such person agrees not to contest his criminal conviction and deportation.
The required agreement was signed on August 7, 1997, (fn9) and immediately became controversial, in part because the conditions required of the inmate include remaining outside the United States permanently, which may be excessive in some cases, but probably more significantly because it may raise some constitutional issues. For example, the inmate, who may be a legal immigrant, may feel pressured to accept this arrangement rather than remain in prison, and may well not have the assistance of counsel in evaluating the offer.
Courts in several countries, but particularly the United
States and the United Kingdom, were concerned in 1997 with the effects of the July 1 handover of Hong Kong to the People's Republic of China. (fn11) A very significant decision, albeit not from Connecticut, was the Second Circuit's ruling (fn12) that a Hong Kong company is not a "citizen or subject of a foreign state" for purposes of Article III, Section 2 of the Constitution (fn13) and diversity jurisdiction. (fn14) Because Hong Kong was not recognized as a separate and sovereign entity by the United States and because the court was not persuaded that a Hong Kong company was a creature of British law, such a company is "stateless," and stateless persons, whether natural or juridical, are not allowed to sue in our federal courts. Similar reasoning might apply to companies established in other special jurisdictions, such as Bermuda, (fn15) the British Virgin Islands, the Cayman Islands, (fn16) the Channel Islands, (fn17) the Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, the Isle of Man and St. Helena (to name only some British dependencies). Although such suits still can be brought in state courts (and perhaps in other Circuits (fn18)), this crabbed interpretation of the federal courts' alienage jurisdiction is to be regretted. (fn19)
A. Extradition and Bail
The United States, like Canada (fn2O) and the United King
dom, (fn21) presumes, until strong evidence is provided to the contrary, that nations with which extradition treaties are in force have adequate standards of criminal justice. (fn22) Some countries, however, have taken a position more protective of the accused, (fn23) particularly since the decision of the European Court of Human Rights in Soeying, (fn24) in which it was held that the defendant...
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