Document Type

Working Paper

Publication Date

3-12-2015

SSRN Discipline

Economics Research Network; Legal Scholarship Network; Law School Research Papers - Legal Studies; Law & Society eJournals; Law & Society: Public Law eJournals; LSN Subject Matter eJournals; Constitutional Law, Jurisprudence & Legal Philosophy eJournals; Political Science Network

Abstract

This Essay considers the desirability and possibility of the US federal and state courts increasing their level of engagement with foreign and international law when deciding domestic law questions In considering this important issue I give sustained and careful consideration to Professor Vicki C Jackson's masterful work Constitutional Engagement in a Transnational Era Oxford University Press 2010 which anyone undertaking serious scholarly work on the question of transnational judicial dialogue will find an essential resource Professor Jackson proposes a troika of models that national court systems can adopt with respect to incorporating comparative and international law materials into their domestic jurisprudence resistance convergence and engagement Jackson buttresses her theoretical typology with significant empirical support Systemic considerations associated with both the legal culture and broader general culture will however strongly impact a particular nation's approach to reconciling foreign and international law with domestic law For example the United States seems to poorly equip its judges and lawyers for engagement given the minimalistic efforts to incorporate comparative law perspectives into the standard JD curriculum to say nothing of the broader problem of a general lack of interest in acquiring foreign language skills Engagement has much to recommend it in terms of policy and theory but to successfully embrace this model judges lawyers and the legal academy must be prepared to devote greater resources to inculcating the skills necessary for this kind of legal research writing and advocacy

Download

Share

COinS