U.S. Supreme Court and the Domestic Force of International Human Rights Law - by Stephen A Simon (Hardcover)

About the Book

This book examines the debate over the domestic force of international human rights law through the U.S. Supreme Court's jurisprudence. By approaching the topic from the justices' vantage point, the analysis shows how multiple controversies are linked to the same overarching q...

Book Synopsis

This book examines the debate over the domestic force of international human rights law through the U.S. Supreme Court's jurisprudence. By approaching the topic from the justices' vantage point, the analysis shows how multiple controversies are linked to the same overarching question and reveals a divide in the Court between two fundamentally different orientations toward the domestic impact of the international human rights regime.

Review Quotes

Simon provides an invaluable and comprehensive analysis of Supreme Court cases considering the force of international human rights law within the American legal system. The book illustrates how the debate over the role of international human rights law in the U.S. is inextricably linked to broader social and political debates--including the legitimacy of an evolving understanding of fundamental rights, the role and relationship of our government's three branches, the tensions between respect for individual rights and popular sovereignty, and the U.S.'s role in the broader world.

This is a wonderful book that informs our understanding of the role of international law in U.S. courts. By looking in great detail at the Supreme Court's recent case law, Simon has produced a fresh perspective on international human rights law.

Simon analyzes the developing battle between internationalist Supreme Court justices who push for greater accommodation of foreign law against those who view this not only as an infringement on American sovereignty but as a perversion of the country's democratic principles. What is at stake is nothing less than whether the United States fully subscribes to human rights standards. The book is written with great intelligence and insight and it most assuredly will be the standard text in the scholarly treatment of the domestic incorporation of international human rights law.

About the Author

Stephen A. Simon is associate professor of political science and coordinator of the Program in Philosophy, Politics, Economics, and Law (PPEL) at the University of Richmond.