HARVARD
LAW R EVI EW.
VOL. XXVII. DECEMBER, I9I3, Nc. z.
THE EXERCISE OF JURISDICTION II/ REM
TO COMPEL PAYMENT OF A DEBT.
fN a previousa rticlel the jurisdictiono f courtso ver foreignp er-
I ,o.r has been examined. It remains to consider the power of
a court to compel an absent defendant, through jurisdiction over
propertyb elongingt o him, to dischargeh is obligations.
Jurisdiction in rem depends solely on the physical control of
the res by the sovereign exercising jurisdiction.2 A few exceptions
to this general statement are to be sure established; thus where
property is carried into a foreign territory without the coiiperation
or consent of the owner jurisdiction cannot be exercised.3 These
exceptionsh ave no bearing on the generald iscussiona nd will be
no further instanced or considered. The typical example of
jurisdiction in rern is the jurisdiction of the Court of Admiralty
over any vesselw ithin the territorial waters of its sovereign.aB ut
jurisdiction in rem is by no means confined to admiralty jurisdiction.
Although in admiralty the subject of jurisdiction is personified
and made a defendant, this is not necessary to the exercise of
jurisdiction; a sovereign may subject a thing to the jurisdiction
r z6 H,tnv. L. Rav. ry3, z8j.
2 The Belgenland, r 14 U. S. 355 (1885) ; Castrique a' Imrie, L. R. + H. L. +r+ (r8Zo);
Story, Confl. Laws, $ 59u.
3 See e. g. Cockburn, C. J., in the course of the argument in Cammell l. Sewell,
5 H. & N. 728 (186o); Edgerly o. Bush, 8r N. Y. r99 (r88o).
{ The Belgenland, rr4 U. S. SSS (r88S); The Bee, r Ware 336, 3 Fed. Cas. No.
r,rr9 (r836).
TOE HARVARD LAII' REVIE'Y.
of his courts by ,ther forms <-rfp rocess.b For instance, while a
court of equity h's, generally speaking, no juriscli ction in rem
without the aid of st.tute. it ma1' be gi'en by st.tute juriscliction
<iver rights in lanrl; ancl in tirat case it may exercise its juris-
<liction t. <letcrmi'c the title of all rand rvithin the territorv.'.r
.thcrrvise to tleal rvith the lantr,z although the claimants are
abroatl. ,\nrl this power is .ot crinfinetl tr juriscriction over land. 'I'he
courts of a sovereign may a.lso be emlioiverecl to determine
thc t i t l e to chattels,8.r t. f,recLrs. liens'r scttle acco'nts,e
.lth.ugh the rxvner of the chattcl or the trustce of the estate is
abrrail. The jurisdiction in rczad epenclsu pon control of the thing
at the tirne litigirti.n is bcgun. If thc juris<lictirn is once exercised
over a thing rvithin the territ'r1' the subsccluent removal of the
thing out of the territ.ry pencli'g the iitigation cl.es not or.rst the
c.urt of juristliction,l0 althor.rghi f a.vthi'g clsc is substituted for
the thing, as for instance if the thing, r,vhether movable or imm.'"'.
ble, is taken out .f the c.urt upon rI boncl being substituted
in its place, the jtrrsicliction over thc thing ceases .ncl cannot
aftcrrvards be cxerciscd unless it is again brought within the
p()wcr of the court on snbscquent proccerciings.ll
_______________________________________________________________
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( rqoo).
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a.
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( r o o 2 ) .
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t , . S r r p e r i . r ( ' r . r t , 8 . 5 ( ' i r l . r r , : 4 p a c . 7 o 7 ( r n . n e y ) ( r g g o()i ;a s s e r t r . S t r . n g , 3 S l f o r r t .
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z,..f.ms.n,3r N.J. Ec1.46q(m.ney)
(IS7g); \\'rrrrl u. Arrt:tlrnd., Ifupk. .213, r4 Am. Dec. 543 (tleed) (rgu4); Monroe o.
I)ouglas, 4 Sandf. (lh. rz6 (cstatt:) (r546).
e Osrv:rld r. Kampmann, zS l;ccl. S6 (13g6).
]:
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r r Shiel r l s2 , .C , r l r .munr.; ; [ ' . S. r r , l r r,Seq/.
