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International Law and the Constitution

The Working Group on International Law and the Constitution focuses on the relationship between international law and the Constitution and the implications of this relationship for human rights. The Group examines issues such as the incorporation of international human rights law into domestic law and U.S. compliance with human rights obligations. It brings together scholars and practitioners in mutually supportive efforts to shape the debate over human rights law and policy in the U.S.

The Working Group's Co-Chairs are:

To get involved in the work of the International Law Working Group, please fill out the Working Group Sign-Up Form.
Recent Stories

The Convention on Racial Discrimination: What Does It Means for U.S. Policy?


ACS hosted a briefing examining the ongoing discussion about, and potential federal legislative implication of, United States compliance with an international agreement on racial discrimination. The agreement is known as the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD). Panelists at May 9, 2008 briefing, including experts who participated in the recent proceedings in Geneva, described CERD and the CERD compliance process, discuss the CERD Committee's findings and recommendations, and explored the role that Congress could play to address U.S. compliance with CERD.

Where Do We Go From Here? Destruction of the CIA Interrogation Tapes and Oversight of the War on Terror

On Friday, January 25, 2008, ACS hosted a panel discussion on issues surrounding the destruction of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) interrogation tapes whose existence was revealed last month. The destruction of these videotapes, which reportedly depict hundreds of hours of extremely harsh interrogations of two Al Queda suspects in 2002, is currently the subject of a Department of Justice (DOJ) criminal investigation. The situation has raised many legal and policy questions, including: What crimes (obstruction of justice, perjury, conspiracy, etc.) have potentially been committed in the destruction of the tapes? Aside from the destruction of the tapes, what concerns are raised by the alleged contents of the tapes and the interrogation techniques documented? When is the appointment of a special counsel merited? More broadly, what significance does this situation hold for the larger conversation about oversight (including congressional oversight) of the intelligence community and oversight recommendations of the 9/11 Commission that remain unimplemented?

The panel featured:

International and Foreign Law Sources: Siren Song for U.S. Judges?


Chimène I. Keitner

Mon, 10/22/2007

In International and Foreign Law Sources: Siren Song for U.S. Judges?, University of California, Hastings College of the Law Associate Professor Chimène I. Keitner, addresses the growing debate over the use of foreign and international law sources by U.S. judges engaged in constitutional adjudication. She begins by summarizing the attitudes towards international law sources exhibited by individual justices in the American legal system, noting that "one's opinion about the potential relevance of foreign and international law sources . . . depends in no small part on one's view of the role of judges in a constitutional democracy." Professor Keitner then examines the public opposition to the citation of foreign law sources in Lawrence v. Texas and Roper v. Simmons, which manifested itself in proposed legislation that would constrain how judges could interpret cases and prohibit the consideration of international law sources. Finally, Professor Keitner identifies three principled objections to the use of foreign and international law sources in constitutional adjudication, and responds to each in turn. Professor Keitner concludes, "Participating in international judicial dialogue should be viewed as a means of strengthening, not weakening, our commitment to the democratic values embodied in the U.S. Constitution."

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Keitner ACS issue brief.pdf286.94 KB
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