Mullin v. Al Otro Lado · ¶167

Finally, the majority’s invocation of the presumption against extraterritoriality to “tip the scale” in its favor is misplaced. Ante, at 15. Under this canon of statutory construction, the Court generally construes federal statutes “to have only domestic application” unless Congress clearly says otherwise. RJR Nabisco, Inc. v. European Community, 579 U. S. 325, 335 (2016). The “basic premise” of the doctrine is that “‘United States law governs domestically but does not rule the world.’” Ibid. It thus reflects the “‘commonsense notion that Congress generally legislates with domestic concerns in mind’” and “serves to avoid the international discord that can result when U. S. law is applied to conduct in foreign countries.” Id., at 335–336.

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