Asakura v. Seattle, 265 U.S. 332 (1924) (No. 211)
1924
Case name: Asakura v. Seattle Opinion filed: 1924-05-26 Docket No.: 211 Citations: • 265 U.S. 332 • 44 S. Ct. 515 • 68 L. Ed. 1041 • 1924 U.S. LEXIS 2611 Case holding summaries: • "Treaties are to be construed in a broad and liberal spirit, and, when two constructions are possible, one restrictive of rights that may be claimed under it and the other favorable to them, the latter is to be preferred." • allowing a foreign national to challenge a city ordinance on the basis that it violated the US-Japan Treaty of Commerce and Navigation • "Treaties are to be construed in a broad and liberal spirit, and, when two constructions are possible, one restrictive of rights that may be claimed under it and the other favorable to them, the latter is to be preferred." • Treaty of Commerce and Navigation between United States and Japan "operates of itself without the aid of any legislation" and "will be applied and given authoritative effect by the courts" • "The treaty-making power of the United States ... does not extend `so far as to authorize what the Constitution forbids,'... [but] does extend to all proper subjects of negotiation between our government and other nations." • "Treaties are to be construed in a broad and liberal spirit, and, when two constructions are possible, one restrictive of rights that may be claimed under it and the other favorable to them, the latter is to be preferred."
