Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Prologue
- Introduction
- PART I UNITED STATES COURTS AS INTERNATIONAL COURTS
- PART II INTERNATIONAL LAW
- PART III UNITED STATES LAW AS INTERNATIONAL LAW
- 5 Article III, International Legal Interpretation
- 6 Extra–Article III, International Legal Interpretation
- 7 The General Liberal Construction Rule: Extending Lynham to Other Article III and Extra–Article III International Law
- Conclusion
- Epilogue
- Index
7 - The General Liberal Construction Rule: Extending Lynham to Other Article III and Extra–Article III International Law
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 July 2009
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Prologue
- Introduction
- PART I UNITED STATES COURTS AS INTERNATIONAL COURTS
- PART II INTERNATIONAL LAW
- PART III UNITED STATES LAW AS INTERNATIONAL LAW
- 5 Article III, International Legal Interpretation
- 6 Extra–Article III, International Legal Interpretation
- 7 The General Liberal Construction Rule: Extending Lynham to Other Article III and Extra–Article III International Law
- Conclusion
- Epilogue
- Index
Summary
As discussed earlier, federal courts exercising their nonfederal law claims jurisdictions (viz., party-based and admiralty/maritime jurisdictions) sometimes can directly apply extra–Article III international legal authorities. Furthermore, federal courts exercising ex aequo et bono jurisdiction also can directly apply such norms. Finally, such authorities also can be used in the construction of federal law.
In Subsection 5.2, this book discussed the Lynham Liberal Construction Rule that requires states-parties to construe their treaty obligations liberally. The U.S. Supreme Court formulated this rule to avoid interstate interpretive conflicts and wars that might arise from a state-party's narrow construction of its duty to its treaty-partner. Although the liberal construction rule in Lynham applied only to treaties with foreign states, there appears to be no reason why this liberal construction rule should not also apply to other international legal sources (e.g., sponsions, customary international law, and general principles of law recognized by civilized nations) given the reciprocal nature of international law in general. Indeed, the Lynham Liberal Construction Rule also would apply to the Constitution and federal statutory law implementing the Constitution because of the Constitution's status as a treaty. For example, consider a hypothetical case in which a CIA agent kills a foreign national in Romania. The family of the dead foreign national sues the CIA agent in a Bivens action alleging a Fifth Amendment violation on the basis that the CIA agent deprived the foreign national of his life without due process of law.
- Type
- Chapter
- Information
- The Constitution as TreatyThe International Legal Constructionalist Approach to the U.S. Constitution, pp. 202 - 206Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2007
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