Does the US Constitution bar the federal courts from intervening in the conduct of foreign relations?

Constitution provides the framework for interaction and dialogue among the branches of our government.⁷ "The conduct of foreign relations is committed largely to the Executive Branch, with power in the Legislative Branch to, inter alia, ratify treaties with foreign sovereigns. The doctrine of separation of powers prohibits the federal courts from excursions into areas committed to the Executive Branch or the Legislative Branch." In re Austrian and German Holocaust Litig., 250 F.3d 156, 163-64 (2d Cir. 2001) (per curiam). The legitimacy of our courts depends in no small measure on exercising authority only in those areas entrusted to the courts. "The establishment of political or economic policies is not for the courts. Such action would be an abuse of judicial power." National City Bank v. Republic of China, 348 U.S. 356, 371 (1955) (Reed, J., dissenting).⁸

Extraterritorial tax enforcement directly implicates relations between our country and other sovereign nations. When a foreign nation appears as a plaintiff in our courts seeking enforcement of its revenue laws, the judiciary risks being drawn into issues and disputes of foreign relations policy that are assigned to-and better handled by-the political branches of government.⁹ See INS v. Aguirre-Aguirre, 526 U.S. 415, 425 (1999) ("The judiciary is not well positioned to shoulder primary responsibility for assessing the likelihood and importance of... diplomatic repercussions" caused by the exercise of sensitive political functions that implicate foreign relations.). Again, Judge Hand put it well: