816
Scalia, J., dissenting
Romero referred to, and followed, the choice-of-law analysis set forth in Lauritzen v. Larsen, 345 U. S. 571 (1953). As previously mentioned, Lauritzen also involved a Jones Act claim brought by a foreign sailor against a foreign employer. The Lauritzen Court recognized the basic problem: "If [the Jones Act were] read literally, Congress has conferred an American right of action which requires nothing more than that plaintiff be 'any seaman who shall suffer personal injury in the course of his employment.' " Id., at 576. The solution it adopted was to construe the statute "to apply only to areas and transactions in which American law would be considered operative under prevalent doctrines of international law." Id., at 577 (emphasis added). To support application of international law to limit the facial breadth of the statute, the Court relied upon—of course—Chief Justice Marshall's statement in Schooner Charming Betsy, quoted supra, at 814-815. It then set forth "several factors which, alone or in combination, are generally conceded to influence choice of law to govern a tort claim." 345 U. S., at 583; see id., at 583-593 (discussing factors). See also McCulloch v. Sociedad Nacional de Marineros de Honduras, 372 U. S. 10, 21-22 (1963) (applying Schooner Charming Betsy principle to restrict application of National Labor Relations Act to foreign-flag vessels).
Lauritzen, Romero, and McCulloch were maritime cases, but we have recognized the principle that the scope of generally worded statutes must be construed in light of international law in other areas as well. See, e. g., Sale v. Haitian Centers Council, Inc., ante, at 178, n. 35; Weinberger v. Rossi, 456 U. S. 25, 32 (1982). More specifically, the principle was expressed in United States v. Aluminum Co. of America, 148 F. 2d 416 (CA2 1945), the decision that established the extraterritorial reach of the Sherman Act. In his opinion for the court, Judge Learned Hand cautioned "we are not to read general words, such as those in [the Sherman]
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