About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline
LOG IN
LOG IN

83 Va. L. Rev. 647 (1997)
The Doctrine of Laches in International Law

handle is hein.journals/valr83 and id is 665 raw text is: NOTE THE DOCTRINE OF LACHES IN INTERNATIONAL LAW Ashraf Ray Ibrahim' INTRODUcTION The doctrine of laches, as understood within the corpus of Anglo- American law, is an equitable principle barring a stale claim due to the pas- sage of time.' The doctrine is derived from a particular application of the Latin maxim vigilantibus non dormientibus aequitas subvenit, translated as equity aids the vigilant, not those who sleep on their rights,2 and may have existed in early Roman Law.3 Unlike statutes of limitations, which are legis- latively created and mechanically applied in courts of law, the doctrine of laches developed as an affirmative defense in courts of equity-historically outside the statute of limitations' purview.4 As a result, the doctrinal under- pinnings of the laches principle are not based upon extrajudicially prescribed time limits, but instead upon a rich history of justice, fairness, and the equita- ble balancing of rights.5 This distinction between the doctrine of laches and 'I would like to dedicate this note to the late Professor Richard B. Lillich, the University of Virginia's Howard W. Smith Professor of Law, who inspired me to research this topic and provided much tutelage, guidance, and wisdom. I would also like to thank Professor David Bederman, Visiting Professor of Law at the University of Virginia and Associate Professor of Law at Emory University, for his comments and suggestions. ' For a basic review of the doctrine as applied in American courts of law and equity, see Henry L. McClintock, Handbook of the Principles of Equity § 28 (2d ed. 1948); Visdean R. Vass & Xia Chen, The Admiralty Doctrine of Laches, 53 La. L. Rev. 495 (1992); Thomas G. Robinson, Note, Laches in Federal Substantive Law: Relation to Statutes of Limitation, 56 B.U. L. Rev. 970 (1976). 2 See Vass & Chen, supra note 1, at 497. The word laches itself stems from the Latin word laxus which means lax. Id. Id. Scholars of American legal history note that Justice Story imported the doctrine into the jurisprudence of the fledgling American Republic in 1815. Id. See Brown v. Jones, 4 F. Cas. 404,406 (C.C.D. Mass. 1815) (No. 2017). 4 See McClintock, supra note 1, § 28, at 75; Robinson, supra note 1, at 971. American admiralty courts have also drawn upon the doctrine of laches in rejecting stale claims. See, e.g., Young v. Key City, 81 U.S. 653, 660 (1871); Vass & Chen, supra note 1, at 495- 506. 5 Courts in the United States have announced a myriad of factors affecting the legal application of the doctrine. See, e.g., McClintock, supra note 1, § 28, at 71-74 (stating that courts have generally considered: (1) unreasonable delay; (2) prejudice to the defendant; (3) potential loss of evidence; and (4) change in the value of the subject-matter involved).

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Purchase Access

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Contact Us

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

Log In

profiles profiles most