In the case of Yahoo! v. LICRA (433 F.3d 1199 (9th Cir. 2006)), LICRA had successfully sued Yahoo!, a U.S. internet provider, in the French court of law on the ground that the sale of Nazi memorabilia through its website violated French law. Yahoo! appealed the ruling before a United States district court on the basis that the French judicial order was not cognizable or enforceable under United States law. The district court held for Yahoo!, ruling that the First Amendment of the Constitution outweighed any concerns of comity between the United States and France. On appeal, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals reversed the district court’s decision and dismissed, holding that Yahoo! did not have a right within the First Amendment to violate French criminal law.
comity
Definition
The legal principle that political entities (such as states, nations, or courts from different jurisdictions) will mutually recognize each other’s legislative, executive, and judicial acts. The underlying notion is that different jurisdictions will reciprocate each other’s judgments out of deference, mutuality, and respect.
In Constitutional law, the Comity Clause refers to Article IV, § 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution (also known as the Privileges and Immunities Clause), which ensures that “The Citizens of each State shall be entitled to all Privileges and Immunities of Citizens in the several States.”
Definition from Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary
Definition provided by Nolo’s Plain-English Law Dictionary.
August 19, 2010, 5:12 pm
“‘Comity,’ in the legal sense, is neither a matter of absolute obligation, on the one hand, nor of mere courtesy and good will, upon the other. But it is the recognition which one nation allows within its territory to the legislative, executive, or judicial acts of another nation, having due regard both to international duty and convenience, and to the rights of its own citizens, or of other persons who are under the protection of its laws.” Hilton v. Guyot, 159 U.S. 113, 163-164 (1895).
