637. Foreign governments and their representatives... 430 ARTICLE 645. Torts against immigrants by carriers. 646. Conspiracies against foreign nation.. 649. Foreigners within a nation without their consent..... 436 650. Pirates subject to the criminal jurisdiction of all na- 675. Jurisdiction unaffected by change of domicil 676. The domicil required for jurisdiction... 677. Judgment of divorce for defendant.. 678. Judgment of divorce everywhere valid.. 689. Local nature of power of administration. 690. Actions by foreign personal representative. 695. Application of property to payment of decedent's debts 460 696. Actions against foreign personal representative...... 461 Article 1. The following rules are established and declared, by the nations assenting hereto, as an International Code, by which those nations, and their members, respectively, shall be governed in their relations with each other. As to the extent to which existing special treaties will be abrogated, see repealing clause. By another article any two nations may, by special treaty, modify the application of any of the provisions of this Code, as between themselves and persons and things subject to their exclusive jurisdiction. A question arises, how far the rules of this Code shall be applied by the nations uniting in it to other nations and their members. There is a large class of subjects, chiefly those known under the generic title of PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW, in which the advantage of a uniform rule depends partly upon its being a rule resting not so much upon convention, binding only the nations which accede to it, as upon principles of jurisprudence, applicable in all courts, and proper to be imposed upon persons of every nationality, without reference to the question whether the nations of which such persons are members have agreed in the adoption of the rule. The provisions of Division Second of Book First are of this general nature. It may be a question, therefore, whether the application of that Division ought to be restricted to the nations uniting in the Code, and to the members of such nations. When, for instance, a question arises as to the right of a foreigner to hold real property, or to reclaim a wreck, or to claim for his ship the privileges of a domestic ship, the provisions of the First Division will be found not to apply, unless he be a member of a nation uniting in the Code. But, if the question arises in any of the courts of the nations uniting in the Code, whether a foreign marriage or divorce is valid; whether a foreign contract is to be judged by the law of one place, or that of another; or a question upon any other of the rules contained in Division Second, it may be thought that the rules prescribed by the Code should be applicable, without reference to the nationality of the parties. The inconvenience or incompleteness of a rule on such subjects of private right, which should be applicable to the transaction, as far only as might affect the interests of foreigners of certain nationalities, but not so far as to affect those of the members of the nation, or of foreigners generally, is obvious. If it is desired to give these rules such a general character as will, so far as the courts of the assenting nations are concerned, solve and terminate the Conflict of Laws, the foìlowing clause may be added to Article 1;— And the provisions of Division Second of Book First, entitled PRIVATE INTERNATIONAL LAW, are to be applied, in each nation which is a party to this Code, not only to foreigners who are members of nations parties to this Code, but also to their own members, and to foreigners of whatsoever nation, except where a more restricted intention appears. "Nation" defined. 2. A nation is a people permanently occupying a definite territory, having a common government, peculiar to themselves, for the administration of justice and the preservation of internal order, and capable of maintaining relations with all other governments. 1 Phillimore's International Law, p. 77; 1 Kent's Commentaries, 188. And see Texas v. White, 7 Wallace's U. S. Supreme Court Reports, 700. Bluntschli, (Droit International Codifié, Art. 18,) adds the restriction that sffiucient guaranties of stability should be indicated. A people whose government is not independent, but vassal,—such as that of Egypt,—or incapable of maintaining international relations,such as those of the States of the American Union,—and a people occu pying no definite territory,-such as nomadic tribes in Asia and Africa, -or having abandoned one territory to take possession of another,—as in the case of the Mormon emigration,-are not nations, within the pro visions of this Code; although they may be regarded as such for some |