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Researching the U.S. Court of International Trade

Introduction

International trade is an essential part of the American economy and the world economy. Throughout the years, there has been a marked increase in the number of disputes involving international trade in the United States. This research guide focuses on the United States Court of International Trade (USCIT), the U.S. federal court that deals most closely with this issue. It includes a history and background on the USCIT, case law access, legislation relating to the Court, court rules, and additional resources.

If you have questions, please feel free to contact the Wolff Library reference desk at 202-662-4195 or by email: intlref@law.georgetown.edu. You may also submit your question via this online form.

History of the Court

Overview

The USCIT website indicates that the first case tried by the first judge appointed to the first court established under the United States Constitution dealt with a dispute involving importation to the new nation. Since then, many customs and international trade cases have come before U.S. courts.

The predecessor to the USCIT was the Board of General Appraisers, provided for by Congress in 1890. See Customs Administration Act of 1890, ch. 407, 26 Stat. 131. In 1926, Congress replaced the Board of General Appraisers with the United States Customs Court, established under Article I of the Constitution. See Act of May 28, 1926, ch. 411, 44 Stat. 669.

In 1956, the Congress declared the Customs Court to be a court established under Article III of the Constitution, thus integrating it into the federal court system. See Act of July 14, 1956, ch. 589, 70 Stat. 532 (codified at 28 USC 251(a) (1994)).

In the late 1960s, the Congress determined that fundamental changes in the Customs Court’s procedures, jurisdiction and powers were required. These broad changes were implemented through two pieces of legislation, one addressing the procedural changes to the Court, and the other the substantive changes. The Customs Courts Act of 1970 (Pub. L. No. 91-271; §110, 84 Stat. 274) addressed the procedural reforms, and the Customs Courts Act of 1980 (Pub. L. No. 96-417, 94 Stat. 1727) addressed the remaining substantive issues. Through the Customs Courts Act of 1980, the United States Customs Court became the United States Court of International Trade.

Looking up the Laws in this Section

The acts mentioned in this section can be accessed on Lexis and Westlaw by using the Statutes at Large citation. In Lexis, under the “Get a Document” tab, type in the citation of the law (e.g. 26 Stat. 131); in Westlaw, type in the citation in “Find by Citation.” To look up these laws in print, consult United States Statutes at Large KF50 .U5.

Jurisdiction and Composition

This section provides a very brief overview of of the jurisdiction and composition of the USCIT. For more detailed information, see the Court’s pages for jurisdiction or composition.

Jurisdiction

In terms of geographical jurisdiction, the United States Court of International Trade is authorized to hear cases arising anywhere in the nation. The USCIT is additionally authorized to hold hearings in foreign countries. Congress granted the USCIT broad subject matter jurisdiction in the Customs Courts Act of 1980, which authorizes the Court to decide any civil action against the U.S. or its officers or agencies arising out of any law pertaining to international trade. The USCIT has the power to grant any appropriate relief in any case before it, including money judgments, writs of mandamus, and injunctions.

Composition

The nine judges who constitute the USCIT are appointed by the President, with the advice and consent of the Senate. The judges are appointed for life, as are all judges appointed under Article III of the Constitution. The chambers of the judges, courtrooms and offices of the USCIT are located in New York City.

USCIT Case Law

Print Sources

The official source for USCIT opinions is United States Court of International Trade Reports KF6655.A2 U54. Customs Courts opinions were officially reported in United States Customs Court Reports KF6655.A2 U54.

USCIT opinions are additionally available in print in the Federal Supplement KF105 .F44, Customs Bulletin and Decisions KF6200.5 .A553 and International Trade Reporter Decisions KF6655.A2 I58.

Online Sources

The U.S. Court of International Trade provides electronic access through their website to their slip opinions from 1999 to the present. Westlaw (FINT-CIT) has the Customs Court and USCIT decisions in one database, with coverage from 1938 to the present. Lexis has Customs Court decisions from 1938-1980 and USCIT decisions from 1980 to the present. The path within Lexis to these databases is shown below.

Legal >Area of Law by Topic>International Trade>Cases>Interpreting US Law>US Customs Court Cases

Legal >Area of Law by Topic>International Trade>Cases>Interpreting US Law>US Court of International Trade Cases

PDFs are available through LLMC Digital for volumes 1 through 23 of USCIT cases and for all volumes (1 – 85) of Customs Court cases.

Background Legislation

Generally

Several provisions of the United States Code (USC) pertain to the USCIT. These are found in Title 28 of the USC and deal with the organization, jurisdiction and procedures of the USCIT. These provisions are available through GPO Access:

Legislative History of the Customs Courts Act of 1980

As mentioned above, the USCIT was established by the Customs Courts Act of 1980 (Pub. L. No. 96-417, 94 Stat. 1727. To see a listing of all of the debates, hearings, and House and Senate reports associated with the Customs Courts Act of 1980, use ProQuest Congressional (formerly Lexis Nexis Congressional). Click on Search by Number, then select “Find a legislative Histories by number.” Enter the Public Law number 96-417 for the Customs Courts Act of 1980. The resulting list will be a complete legislative history of the Act. Note that this is not a full text document.

For research assistance in locating the full text of individual documents from the legislative history of the Customs Courts Act of 1980, please refer to Legislative History Research or contact a reference librarian for assistance.

Court Rules

The rules of court for the USCIT are available online through the Court’s website. In print, refer to An Up-to-Date Copy of the United States Court of International Trade Rules KF6698 .A4 1984. This is a looseleaf that is kept up-to-date through supplements.

Additional Resources

Annual Review

The Georgetown University Law Center’s Georgetown Journal of International Law (GJIL) INTL K7 .E483has been selected by the USCIT as the first law journal sanctioned to publish an annual review of its work.

The new GJIL publication will be entitled International Trade Review and will be an independent critique and analysis of the work of the USCIT. It will draw articles, essays, notes and case commentaries from practitioners, academics and students from all over the world. These scholarly pieces will be selected by the editors of GJIL based on the importance of issues recently before the USCIT, and trends in the decisions of the USCIT and their review by the Federal Circuit.

Check the library catalog for future issues of International Trade Review. The GJIL website has more information about the journal in general.

Research Guides

The Georgetown Law Library has prepared several research guides listed below that relate to the topics of customs law and international trade. For a complete list of research guides, see our In-Depth Research page.


Revised June 2006 (aeb)
Links Revised August 2008 (RAS)

Page last saved 23-Sep-2011