Requirement for Consent

design and care of the Constitution as the preservation of the Union and the maintenance of the National government. The Constitution, in all its provisions, looks to an indestructible Union, composed of indestructible States.' Every journey to a forbidden end begins with the first step; and the danger of such a step by the federal government in the direction of taking over the powers of the states is that the end of the journey may find the states so despoiled of their powers, or-what may amount to the same thing-so [298 U.S. 238, 296] relieved of the responsibilities which possession of the powers necessarily enjoins, as to reduce them to little more than geographical subdivisions of the national domain. It is safe to say that if, when the Constitution was under consideration, it had been thought that any such danger lurked behind its plain words, it would never have been

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ratified. “

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[Carter v. Carter Coal Co., 298 U.S. 238 (1936)]

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Below are some examples of the operation of the above rules for sovereignty within the American system of government: 11

1. No federal law prescribes a duty upon a person who is a “national” but not a “citizen” under federal law, as defined in 8 12 U.S.C. §1101(a)(21) , 8 U.S.C. §1101(a)(22)(B), or 8 U.S.C. §1452. References to “nationals” within federal law are 13 rare and every instance where it is mentioned is in the context of duties and obligations of public servants, rather than 14 the “national himself” or herself. 15 2. Human beings who have not expressly and in writing contracted away their rights are “sovereign”. Here is how the 16 U.S. Supreme Court describes it: 17

"There is a clear distinction in this particular case between an individual and a corporation, and that the latter has no right to refuse to submit its books and papers for an examination at the suit of the State. The individual may stand upon his constitutional rights as a citizen. He is entitled to carry on his private business in his own way. His power to contract is unlimited. He owes no such duty to the State, since he receives nothing therefrom, beyond the protection of his life and property. His rights are such as existed by the law of the land long antecedent to the organization of the State, and can only be taken from him by due process of law, and in accordance with the constitution. Among his rights are a refusal to incriminate himself, and the immunity of himself and his property from arrest or seizure except under a warrant of the law. He owes nothing to the

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public so long as he does not trespass upon their rights."

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[Hale v. Henkel, 201 U.S. 43 , 74 (1905)]

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3. States of the Union and the Federal government are both immune from lawsuits against them by “nationals”, except in 28 cases where they voluntarily consent by law. This is called “sovereign immunity”. Read the Supreme Court case of 29 Alden v. Maine , 527 U.S. 706 (1999) for exhaustive details on the constitutional basis for this immunity. 30 4. States of the Union are “foreign” with respect to the federal government for the purposes of legislative jurisdiction. In 31 federal law, they are called “foreign states” and they are described with the lower case word “states” within the U.S. 32 Code and in upper case “States” in the Constitution. Federal “States”, which are actually territories of the United 33 States (see 4 U.S.C. §110(d)) are spelled in upper case in most federal statutes and codes. States of the Union are 34 immune from the jurisdiction of federal courts, except in cases where they voluntarily consent to be subject to the 35 jurisdiction. The federal government is immune from the jurisdiction of state courts and international bodies, except 36 where it consents to be sued as a matter of law. This is called “sovereign immunity”. 37

Foreign States: “Nations outside of the United States…Term may also refer to another state; i.e. a sister state. The term ‘foreign nations’, …should be construed to mean all nations and states other than that in which the

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action is brought; and hence, one state of the Union is foreign to another, in that sense.”

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[ Black’s Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition, p. 648]

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Foreign Laws: “The laws of a foreign country or sister state. In conflicts of law, the legal principles of jurisprudence which are part of the law of a sister state or nation. Foreign laws are additions to our own laws,

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and in that respect are called 'jus receptum'." [ Black’s Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition, p. 647]

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5. The rules for surrendering sovereignty are described in the “Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act”, which is codified in 46 28 U.S.C. §§1602-1611. A list of exceptions to the act in 28 U.S.C. §1605 define precisely what behaviors cause a 47 sovereign to surrender their sovereignty to a fellow sovereign. 48 The key point we wish to emphasize throughout this section is that a sovereign is “foreign” with respect to all other 49 external (outside them within the onion diagram) sovereigns and therefore not subject to their jurisdiction. In that respect, a 50 sovereign is considered a “foreigner” of one kind or another in the laws of every sovereign external to it. For instance, a 51 person who is a “national” but not a subject “citizen” under federal law, as defined in 8 U.S.C. §1101(a)(21) and/or 8 52 U.S.C. §1452, is classified as a “nonresident alien ” within the Internal Revenue Code. He is “alien” to the code because he 53 is not subject to it and he is a “nonresident” because he does not maintain a domicile in the federal zone. This is no 54 accident, but simply proof in the law itself that such a person is in deed and in fact a “sovereign” with respect to the 55

Requirement for Consent

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Copyright Sovereignty Education and Defense Ministry, http://sedm.org Form 05.003, Rev. 7-23-2013

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