After Sosa: The Future of Customary International Law in the United States

29 Pages Posted: 13 Nov 2006 Last revised: 20 Feb 2013

See all articles by William S. Dodge

William S. Dodge

George Washington University - Law School

Date Written: 2009

Abstract

This paper explores the role of customary international law in the U.S. legal system after the Supreme Court's decision in Sosa v. Alvarez-Machain. After discussing Sosa's impact both on alien tort litigation and on the debate over whether customary international law is federal common law, I apply Sosa's methodology to some of the open questions concerning the place of customary international law in our constitutional scheme. With respect to Article II's 'Take Care' Clause, I argue that the original understanding was that customary international law bound the President and that modern arguments for abandoning that understanding are not convincing. With respect to Article III, I argue that customary international law was originally understood to be part of the 'Laws of the United States' for purposes of Article III arising - under jurisdiction, and that there are good reasons to adhere to that position today. And with respect to the Supremacy Clause of Article VI, I argue that customary international law should today bind the states, subject to congressional override, even though this was probably not the original understanding.

Keywords: Sosa, Alien Tort Statute, customary international law

Suggested Citation

Dodge, William S., After Sosa: The Future of Customary International Law in the United States (2009). Willamette Journal of International Law and Dispute Resolution, Vol. 17, No. pp. 21, 2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=944245 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.944245

William S. Dodge (Contact Author)

George Washington University - Law School ( email )

2000 H Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20052
United States

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