Also known as: foedera · foederis · foederum · foedere · treaty · covenant · alliance
Written by attorneys · grounded in primary & secondary sources — see below
A historical term in international law for a treaty, league, or compact between sovereign entities.
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State A and State B signed a foedus to coordinate border trade rules. The compact required congressional approval under the Constitution. A court examined whether the arrangement constituted a forbidden treaty or permissible agreement.
Two nations entered a foedus establishing mutual defense obligations. The league bound each sovereign to provide aid upon attack. Subsequent disputes tested the continuing force of the compact.
A sovereign entered a foedus with a foreign power concerning trade rights. The instrument was ratified according to constitutional processes. Courts later construed the scope of obligations created by the compact.
State A and State B signed an agreement to coordinate border trade rules. The compact required no congressional approval. A court held the arrangement invalid because the Constitution forbids states from entering such agreements without consent.
A president concluded an executive agreement resembling a foedus with another nation. The pact conflicted with constitutional protections. The Supreme Court invalidated the arrangement for exceeding treaty power limits.
Nations formed a foedus providing for arbitration of commercial disputes. The treaty specified enforcement procedures in domestic courts. A party sought recognition of an award rendered under the compact.
It denotes a treaty, league, or compact between sovereign powers under historical international law.
Supporting sources
…pupils and their parents; and to Barrows v. Jackson , 346 U. S. 249, where a white defendant, party to a racially restrictive covenant, who was being sued for damages by the covenantors because she had conveyed her property to Negroes, was allowed to raise the issue that enforcement of the covenant violated the rights of…