Cite as: 523 U. S. 491 (1998)
Opinion of the Court
applicable to States and the Federal Government. See Tindal v. Wesley, 167 U. S., at 213; see also Treasure Salvors, supra, at 710 (White, J., concurring in judgment in part and dissenting in part) (discussing analogy between immunity in "in rem actions brought against vessels in which an official of the State, the Federal Government, or a foreign government has asserted ownership of the res"). In one such case, The Davis, 10 Wall. 15 (1870), the Court explained that "proceedings in rem to enforce a lien against property of the United States are only forbidden in cases where, in order to sustain the proceeding, the possession of the United States must be invaded under process of the court." Id., at 20. The possession referred to was "an actual possession, and not that mere constructive possession which is very often implied by reason of ownership under circumstances favorable to such implication." Id., at 21; see also The Siren, 7 Wall. 152, 159 (1869) (describing "exemption of the government from a direct proceeding in rem against the vessel whilst in its custody"). The Court's jurisprudence respecting the sovereign immunity of foreign governments has likewise turned on the sovereign's possession of the res at issue. See, e. g., The Pesaro, 255 U. S. 216, 219 (1921) (federal court's in rem jurisdiction not barred by mere suggestion of foreign government's ownership of vessel).
While this Court's decision in The Davis was issued over a century ago, its fundamental premise remains valid in in rem admiralty actions, in light of the federal courts' constitutionally established jurisdiction in that area and the fact that a requirement that a State possess the disputed res in such cases is "consistent with the principle which exempts the [State] from suit and its possession from disturbance by virtue of judicial process." The Davis, supra, at 21. Based on longstanding precedent respecting the federal courts' assumption of in rem admiralty jurisdiction over vessels that are not in the possession of a sovereign, we conclude that the Eleventh Amendment does not bar federal jurisdiction
507
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