Neer Claim (USA v. Mexico)
Rule established
Established the "international minimum standard" for treatment of aliens. A state is responsible for injury to an alien only if the treatment amounts to an "outrage, bad faith, wilful neglect of duty, or insufficiency of governmental action so far short of international standards.
Facts
- Paul Neer, US citizen, shot and killed near his home in Mexico (1924)
- Mexican authorities investigated but failed to identify or prosecute the killers
- USA claimed Mexico was internationally responsible for denial of justice
Issue
- What standard of governmental conduct triggers state responsibility for injury to aliens?
Held
- Mexico's investigation, while inadequate, did not amount to outrage or bad faith
- Established the threshold: treatment must amount to "an outrage, bad faith, wilful neglect of duty, or insufficiency so far short of international standards that every reasonable and impartial man would readily recognize its insufficiency"
- Claim dismissed
Ratio Decidendi
The propriety of governmental acts should be put to the test of international standards. The treatment of an alien must amount to an outrage, bad faith, or wilful neglect of duty to engage state responsibility; mere inefficiency or lack of desired result is insufficient.
How to use it in an exam
- Foundational test for state responsibility regarding aliens
- Often paired with Chorzow Factory for quantum, and Corfu Channel for scope
- Key line: "The Neer Claim (1926) established that state responsibility for treatment of aliens arises only when conduct amounts to 'an outrage, bad faith, wilful neglect of duty, or insufficiency so far short of international standards that every reasonable man would recognize it.'"
Source
Source: 4 RIAA 60 (1926)
This is an educational summary, not the judgment itself. Cite the reported version in professional or academic work.