The Death of Treaty Supremacy

In an insightful new blog posting, Professor David Sloss describes the historical context for the current crabbed interpretation of the Supremacy Clause’s role in incorporating international law into US jurisprudence, and challenges us to think about how things could be different — if not under the incoming administration, then in the future.  Sloss explores the issue in greater depth in his new book with Oxford University Press, titled The Death of Treaty Supremacy.  According to the publisher’s blurb, the book:

Provides the first detailed history of the Constitution’s treaty supremacy rule and describes a process of invisible constitutional change;

Analyzes the implications of U.S. ratification of the UN Charter, which obligates nations to promote human rights “for all without distinction as to race”;

Discusses the implications of the de facto Bricker Amendment for contemporary constitutional theory; and

Discusses contemporary, doctrinal controversies related to self-execution and treaty supremacy.