International Law Scholars Say Attempt by U.S. Judge to Block $18 Billion Court Judgment Against Chevron "Unlawful" and "Futile"Scholars Ask Appellate Court to Dissolve Order of Judge Lewis A. Kaplan http://amazonwatch.org/news/2011/0613-international-law-scholars-say-attempt-to-block-judgment-unlawful-and-futile

A group of 16 international law scholars have asked a federal appeals court in New York to overturn what they say is a U.S. trial court's "futile" and unlawful injunction that purports to prohibit foreign citizens from Ecuador from collecting an $18 billion judgment against Chevron in courts around the world. The scholars described the injunction, issued by Judge Lewis A. Kaplan, as a "futile act" that "is much more likely to antagonize the courts of other states" than be treated as persuasive authority, as Kaplan has claimed.

They also described the injunction as "breathtaking in its attempts to arrogate a world-wide and exclusive jurisdiction in this case" to a U.S. court without any legal authority to back it up. The scholars filed an amicus brief with the Second Circuit Court of Appeals asserting that Kaplan's injunction "constitutes an internationally unlawful attempt to intervene in the domestic legal affairs of Ecuador." The scholars asked the Second Circuit – which is expediting an appeal of Kaplan's order – to dissolve the injunction. 

"The preliminary injunction directly intrudes into the external administration of Ecuadorian justice because recognition and enforcement of Ecuadorian judgments are issues each state is permitted to decide freely," argued the law scholars, who are led by Donald K. Anton of the Australian National University College of Law in Canberra. Those signing include public international scholars from South Africa, Spain, Finland, Italy and the United States. All made it clear they were not taking a position on the merits of underlying case. The law scholars wrote that Kaplan's injunction violates international law, interferes in the foreign relations of the U.S., would potentially expose the U.S. to legal claims from Ecuador, and would be impossible to enforce.