American Judges and International Law

78 Pages Posted: 3 Nov 2002

See all articles by Mark Weisburd

Mark Weisburd

University of North Carolina School of Law

Date Written: October 2002

Abstract

This article addresses an issue with which federal courts have been forced to deal with increasing frequency: how ought a judge go about determining the content of customary international law? The article seeks to demonstrate, using the example of the treatment of the concept of jus cogens by the courts of appeals, that federal courts have come to rely on doubtful sources in addressing questions of international law. More specifically, it sets out to show that courts frequently do not rely on the actual practice of governments to determine the content of customary international law, as would be indicated both by the nature of customary international law and by Supreme Court authority. Rather, they have come to place weight on the works of writers whose conclusions themselves are drawn from dubious bases, on the Restatement, on the views of other domestic courts and on the decisions of international courts. The article explains the problems with relying on such sources, and briefly describes an alternative method of proceeding for cases involving an area of customary international law very frequently before American courts, the law of human rights.

Keywords: International law, customary law, jus cogens, federal jurisdiction

Suggested Citation

Weisburd, Arthur Mark, American Judges and International Law (October 2002). Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=338440 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.338440

Arthur Mark Weisburd (Contact Author)

University of North Carolina School of Law ( email )

Van Hecke-Wettach Hall, 160 Ridge Road
CB #3380
Chapel Hill, NC 27599-3380
United States
919-962-8515 (Phone)

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