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Facts: Sei Fujii is a Japanese alien, and ineligible for US citizenship. He had
purchased land which was escheated to the state (reversion to the state) b/c there
is no treaty btwn Japan and the US that allows Fujii to own land. P contends that
the CA alien land is trumped by the UN Charter (treaty), and so is invalidated.
Issue: When can a treaty supersede local laws which are inconsistent with it?
Holding: UN Charter does not supersede CA alien land law (although it was still
found invalid b/c it violated the 14th amendment)
Reasoning: A treaty does not automatically supersede local laws which are
inconsistent with it unless the treaty provisions are self-executing. A self-
executing treaty operates w/o the aid of implementing legislation and to have the
force and effect of a statute, it must appear that the framers of the treaty
intended to prescribe a rule that, standing alone, would be enforceable in the
courts. In determining whether a treaty is self-executing, courts look at:
○ The intent of the signatory parties as manifested by the language of the
instrument
○ And, if the instrument is uncertain, recourse may be had to the
circumstances surrounding its execution.
Court decides the UN Charter is not self-executing, and therefore doesn’t trump CA
alien land law. However, the CA alien land law was found invalid b/c it violated
the 14 amendment.
RULE: A treaty does not automatically supersede local laws which are inconsistent
with it unless the treaty provisions are self-executing.
Notes
• P is saying that UN Charter (treaty) shall trump CA law. B/c treaties, US
Constitution, and Federal law trumps state law.
• UN Charter is aspirational, forward-looking in nature, so not self-executing.
• Court gives examples of language from self-executing treaties (pg 187):
○ "national shall be allowed a term of 3 years in which to sell the property
- very definite on what they want to happen
○ Some parts of UN charter are very specific, and have a mandatory aspect to
them, so are self-executing;
§ Language of enforcement: mandatory