Peru v. The Unidentified Shipwrecked Vessel

Linked with:

• Odyssey Marine Exploration, Inc. v. The Unidentified Shipwrecked Vessel
• De Aliaga v. Spain

Issue: (1) Whether the United States applies the customary international law that determines ownership of historical articles found in international waters, including Article 149 of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Seas and the law of successor states, or imposes a rule directly contrary to the customary international law that awards such treasures to the nation whose warships were carrying them away from their historical home; (2) whether the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act (FISA) preempts the historical possession rule outlined by this Court in California v. Deep Sea Research, Inc., so that, under the FSIA, foreign sovereigns have greater immunity protections than the United States government; and (3) whether, in an in rem action, international law and comity permit the invocation of sovereign immunity between two foreign nations claiming ownership of the same res.

Briefs and Documents

Certiorari-stage documents

• Opinion below (11th Cir.)
• Petition for certiorari
• Brief in opposition
• Motion for leave to file out of time and amicus brief of Professional Marine Explorers Society, Inc. et al. (forthcoming)
• Reply of petitioner