The Calvo Doctrine, a body of international law that regulates the government’s jurisdiction over foreigners and the scope of their protection by their spouses, as well as the use of force in the recovery of compensation. Calvary doctrine proposes a ban on diplomatic protection or (armed) intervention before the end of local resources. Under this doctrine, an investor has no choice but to use local courts in his own country. The doctrine denies foreign investors the right to apply for assistance in their own countries as it may violate the territorial sovereignty and judicial independence of the host countries. Under this doctrine, an investor has to use the local court instead of the court of their own country. The Calvary doctrine as policy-making is an expression of legal nationalism. The policy has been applied in Latin America and other parts of the world, according to Carlos Calvo, an Argentine judge.
This doctrine was developed by Argentine diplomat and legal scholar Carlos Calvo in accordance with his theory and practice (1868) of international law in Europe and America. It affirms that the rules of control of jurisdiction under aliens in a country and the collection of compensation should apply equally to all nations, regardless of size. This doctrine was based on two basic principles: equality of rights for foreign and domestic investors and the sovereignty of Latin American states. This doctrine was first published in 1868 in Calvor Derecho Internacional Terrico y Practico de Europa y America (International Law: Theory and Practice of Europe and America), published in Paris. The Calvary clause of an agreement between the government of a Latin American state and an alien state stipulates that the next state unconditionally agrees to any dispute between the parties to the agreement.
With the establishment of nationalist people’s governments in Latin America in the 1930s and 1940s, Calvary’s doctrine was incorporated into many political structures and civil codes. Calvo justified his doctrine to prevent the abuse of the powers of the weaker countries by the more powerful ones. Since then it has been annexed as part of several Latin American constitutions, as well as many more treaties, laws, and treaties. Although the United States opposed European intervention in the United States, it was frequently used as a right to intervene with the armed forces in any Latin-American state where U.S. interests seemed to be at stake. The Drago doctrine is a narrow application of Calvary’s broad principle.
