A major international law conference took place this June in Rome to assess the threat posed to national sovereignty and democratic decision-making by the ever-growing prominence of international law, especially what is called "customary" international law. The conference was convened by C-FAM and the Culture of Life Foundation, and was co-sponsored by the Federalist Society, Ave Maria Law School and the National Interest magazine.
In
a paper delivered to the conference, John O. McGinnis, a professor
at Northwestern University Law School, criticized the current
practice of creating "customary" international law
through the interpretations of vague language by multinational
regulatory bodies. According to McGinnis, this process "moves
the law away from the actual decisions of nations states,"
since these regulatory bodies are free to make "inferences"
about the content of the laws.
McGinnis
is also concerned about the ability of elites, both within international
judicial bodies and international nongovernmental organizations,
to gain enormous power. McGinnis states that, "customary
international law provides far less firm evidence of consensus
[than treaty provisions], because professional and judicial
elites rather than sovereign states have substantial influence
in framing international law.Those who want to fashion rules
outside of the treaty context - will necessarily appoint themselves
the prophets of international virtue."
McGinnis goes so far as to call such elites "the bane of
modern
international law generation."
In his paper, Fernand Keuleneer, a member of the Brussels Bar
Council, discussed the European Constitution, warning that "the
adoption of this Constitution could have far-reaching consequences,
beyond the intentions of most of those in favor, in that it
may lead to.a creeping transfer of powers to the European Union.
According to Keuleneer, "Any individual will be able to
argue before a court that some national law violates his rights
as a citizen of the [European] Union. It will then be the court's
decision whether indeed it is a binding norm of Union law which
has been infringed upon." Keuleneer fears that the emerging
structure will ensure that "courts rather than elected-bodies
are the engine of law-making and have the final say."
The conference also featured a debate on the European Constitution between former Italian Prime Minister Giuliano Amato and leading British euroskeptic William Cash, who is a member of the European Parliament. Judge Robert Bork delivered the keynote address at a private dinner held at the official residence of Jim Nicholson, US Ambassador to the Holy See.
More than 50 American and European policy makers participated in the conference, including Italy's Minister of Defense, Antonio Martino, David Bryant, senior advisor to US Attorney General John Ashcroft, and Silvia Cortes, a Spanish diplomat and advisor to former president Jose Maria Aznar.
Copyright
2004 - C-FAM (Catholic Family & Human Rights Institute).
Permission granted for unlimited use.