No principle of general law is more universally acknowledged, than the perfect equality of nations. Russia and Geneva have equal rights. It results from this equality, that no one can rightfully impose a rule on another....As no nation can prescribe a rule for others, none can make a law of nations.

The Papers of John Marshall: Correspondence, papers, and selected judicial opinions, January 1824-March 1827 (ed. The University of North Carolina Press, 2000) - ISBN: 9780807825204