Federal Republic of Germany v. Philipp
Decided February 3, 2021. John Glover Roberts Jr. delivered the opinion of the Court.
Docket 19-351 · 592 U.S. 169 (2021) · Cited 62 times
Holding
The Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act’s expropriation exception, 28 U. S. C. §1605(a)(3), incorporates the domestic takings rule, which recognizes that a foreign sovereign’s taking of its own nationals’ property is not a violation of international law.
The Court’s statement of the holding, from the opinion’s syllabus. The syllabus is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions and is not part of the opinion of the Court. Read the official opinion for authority.
How the Justices voted
Decided 9–0.
Majority · 9
- John G. Roberts, Jr. · delivered the opinion of the Court
- Clarence Thomas
- Samuel A. Alito, Jr.
- Sonia Sotomayor
- Elena Kagan
- Neil M. Gorsuch
- Brett M. Kavanaugh
- Amy Coney Barrett
- Stephen G. Breyer
“Concurring” means agreeing with the outcome; any split shown is the Court’s judgment, not each Justice’s reasoning. The lineup is the syllabus’s disposition of who wrote and joined each opinion. Source: the opinion’s syllabus (supremecourt.gov).
Precedents cited
Supreme Court decisions this opinion relies on, ordered by how often it cites each. Cases in our collection link through; others are named.
- Banco Nacional De Cuba v. Sabbatino · 376 U.S. 398 (1964)
- Republic of Austria v. Altmann · 541 U.S. 677 (2004)
- Saudi Arabia v. Nelson · 507 U.S. 349 (1993)
- Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Petroleum Co. · 569 U.S. 108 (2013)
- United States v. Belmont · 301 U.S. 324 (1937)
- United States v. Detroit Timber & Lumber Co. · 200 U.S. 321 (1906)
- Argentine Republic v. Amerada Hess Shipping Corp. · 488 U.S. 428 (1989)
- Microsoft Corp. v. At&t Corp. · 550 U.S. 437 (2007)
- Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations v. City of New York · 551 U.S. 193 (2007)
Cited by
Later Supreme Court opinions in our collection that cite this case.
- Hungary v. Simon · 604 U.S. 115 (2025)
Official text
Read the official opinion (PDF, supremecourt.gov)
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John Glover Roberts Jr.’s profile · All Supreme Court opinions · The Supreme Court
Source: Supreme Court of the United States, slip opinions (2021). Citation count from the Free Law Project’s CourtListener bulk data. Data last verified 2026-08-15. Informational only; verify against the primary source before relying. Not a consumer report (FCRA).