Introduction

The international law rule of non-expropriation of the property of foreign nationals is at least as old as any recognized in international law. The principle is roughly this: A nation may not take for its own use the property of a foreign national without providing due process of law and just compensation. Notwithstanding some difference of opinion as to what constitutes "due process" or perhaps more importantly, "just compensation," this has been how the rule has been formulated, more or less, for as long as it has existed. This rule applies to all ...