What is the relationship between the US Constitution and international law?
The US Constitution establishes the legal framework for the US government and lays out the rights of citizens. International law is a set of rules that countries around the world agree to follow as part of their obligation to uphold international peace and security. These laws include treaties, customs, and other agreements between countries. The US Constitution sets limits on the federal government’s power, but it does not directly address the issue of international law. However, the US Supreme Court has ruled that the US Constitution can be interpreted to support international law in certain instances. For example, in the 1952 case of United States v. Belmont, the Supreme Court held that the US government could abide by a foreign government’s treaty obligations because the US Constitution allows the federal government to make treaties. In other words, the US Constitution provides a basis for accepting international law as a valid form of legal authority in certain cases. At the same time, international law is not always the final authority in the US. The US Constitution is the supreme law of the land, which means all other laws must comply with the Constitution. When an international law conflicts with the US Constitution, the Constitution takes precedence. As a result, international law sometimes serves to inform or guide the US Constitution, but the Constitution can never be superseded by international law.
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