Constitutional Law—Foreign Affairs Power Preempts California Law: National Government to Resolve Holocaust-Era Insurance Claims—American Insurance Association v. Garamendi, 539 U.S. 396 (2003)

To ensure uniformity in dealing with foreign nations, the United States Constitution allocates responsibility for foreign affairs to the National Government.  Although states may enact legislation that touches on foreign relations, at some point state power must yield to the policy of the National Government.  In American Insurance Ass’n v. Garamendi, the United States Supreme Court considered whether a California statute, the Holocaust Victims Insurance Recovery Act (HVIRA), unconstitutionally interfered with the National Government’s foreign policy by requiring local insurers to disclose policy information held by their foreign affiliates.  The Court held that the Executive Branch had its own policy for dealing with the settlement of Holocaust-era claims, that the California law conflicted with it, and that HVIRA was therefore preempted. . . .