The British Debt Case
E47936
The British Debt Case is a landmark 1796 U.S. Supreme Court decision that addressed the payment of pre-Revolutionary War debts owed to British creditors and helped establish the supremacy of federal treaties over conflicting state laws.
Statements (30)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
U.S. Supreme Court case
ⓘ
landmark legal decision ⓘ |
| appliesTo | debts contracted before the American Revolution ⓘ |
| branchOfLaw |
constitutional law
ⓘ
contract law ⓘ international law ⓘ |
| country |
United States of America
ⓘ
surface form:
United States
|
| creditorNationality | British ⓘ |
| debtorNationality | American ⓘ |
| decisionYear | 1796 ⓘ |
| establishes |
binding nature of treaties as part of the supreme law of the land
ⓘ
federal supremacy in treaty enforcement ⓘ |
| hasJurisdiction |
Supreme Court of the United States
ⓘ
surface form:
United States Supreme Court
|
| historicalPeriod | early U.S. constitutional era ⓘ |
| impact |
clarified that treaties override conflicting state laws
ⓘ
strengthened federal authority over states in foreign affairs ⓘ |
| involves | conflict between state statutes and treaty obligations ⓘ |
| legalDoctrine | supremacy clause application to treaties ⓘ |
| legalIssue |
conflict between federal treaties and state laws
ⓘ
payment of debts to British creditors ⓘ pre-Revolutionary War debts ⓘ |
| legalPrinciple |
enforceability of treaty obligations in U.S. courts
ⓘ
supremacy of federal treaties over state laws ⓘ |
| partyType |
American debtors
ⓘ
British creditors ⓘ |
| relatedTo | American Revolutionary War ⓘ |
| relatedTreaty |
Treaty of Paris (1783)
ⓘ
surface form:
Treaty of Paris of 1783
|
| subjectMatter |
international obligations under a peace treaty
ⓘ
state interference with treaty-based rights ⓘ |
| timeFrameOfDebts | pre-Revolutionary War period ⓘ |
Referenced by (2)
Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.
subject surface form:
Ware v. Hylton