Posted by Howard S. Schiffman on December 21, 2002 at 01:44:24:
In Reply to: treaties posted by Ardene McKeag on December 21, 2002 at 00:54:53:
Article 6, Section 2 of the US Constitution, referred to as the "supremacy clause," merely establishes federal law, including treaties, to be the "supreme law of the land" therefore superseding state law. It is really silent on the issue of self-execution which is more a question of treaty interpretation for a court.
You are probably aware that a "self-executing treaty" can be described as one that does not require specific implementing legislation by Congress and that may create rights flowing directly to litigants without such implementing legislation. The factors courts use to determine self-execution are similar to other questions of treaty interpretation. This includes the plain meaning of the treaty language, the travaux, legislative history during advice and consent, etc. As I have indicated elsewhere on this Forum, the question of self-execution is rather complex and one cannot do it justice simply with a post here. There are many fine scholarly articles examining the issue. If you are interested in reading an article I wrote that in part examines the question of whether or not the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations is a self-executing treaty, see:
Howard S. Schiffman, "Breard and Beyond, Consular Notification and Access Under the Vienna Convention," 8 Cardozo Journal of International and Comparative Law 27 (2000).
I hope this is useful.
All the best,
Howard S. Schiffman, Esq.
Co-Founder and Administrator
www.InternationalLawHelp.com
: How can it be said that under article 6 of the constitution,
: treaties are self execuiting ? Thanks