Denouncing the ‘One Voice’ Doctrine
Year: 2024
Type: article
Abstract: The 'one voice' doctrine holds that the executive's recognition of foreign states and governments is conclusive evidence of their status as such in English proceedings. However, the doctrine-properly understood as an irrebuttable presumption of status-is beset with theoretical and practical problems. Here, I argue that courts should abandon it, for three reasons: first, the doctrine is motivated by overbroad accounts of the executive's foreign affairs prerogative; second, it suffers from inconsistencies on matters of scope, which its underlying justifications cannot resolve; and third, the doctrine creates conceptual incoherence, undermining the purpose of other doctrines which operate contingently upon it. In its place, courts should adopt an alternative rule, triggering a rebuttable presumption of status and attributing evidential weight to executive certificates, which avoids these problems while still serving the 'one voice' doctrine's only legitimate purpose: helping courts reliably answer questions of status.
Source: Oxford Journal of Legal Studies
DOI: 10.1093/ojls/gqae032
Author: Marcus Teo
Language: English
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: hybrid
Estimated APC paid: $4,057
OpenAlex ID: W4402679478