OnTheIssuesLogo

Ruth Bader Ginsburg on Foreign Policy

Supreme Court Justice (nominated by Pres. Clinton 1993)

 


Citing foreign law ok; we're not bound by it

"I frankly don't understand all the brouhaha from Congress and even from some of my colleagues about referring to foreign law," Justice Ginsburg said.

Ginsburg said the controversy was based on the misunderstanding that citing a foreign precedent means the court considers itself bound by foreign law as opposed to merely being influenced by such power as its reasoning holds.

She added that the failure to engage foreign decisions had resulted in diminished influence for the US Supreme Court.

Source: Adam Liptak, New York Times, "Ginsburg Shares" , Apr 11, 2009

Treaty giving individual rights should bind US courts.

Justice Ginsburg joined the dissent on MEDELLIN v. TEXAS on Mar 25, 2008:

After his conviction for murder, Mexican citizen Jose Medellin argued on appeal that police should have complied with the Vienna Convention and asked if he wanted his consulate notified of his arrest. Texas courts held that Medellin should have made this argument before trial. Separately, the UN's International Court of Justice heard a case involving Medellin, brought by Mexico against the US, on failure to comply with the Convention. The ICJ held that Texas courts must provide Medellin with hearings on the issue.

HELD: Delivered by Roberts; joined by Scalia, Kennedy, Thomas, & Alito

The Vienna Convention was not "self-executing" but required further federal law for it to be binding upon US courts. The ICJ decision, further, was not binding on domestic courts since the country's obligations
  1. was only to defend the case, not abide by an ICJ judgment, and
  2. under the UN charter was only to "undertake to comply" with ICJ decisions.
Mexico was the party before the ICJ, not Medellin, and he gained no personal rights from the ICJ ruling. Pres. Bush wrote that state courts should give effect to the Convention did not bind those courts, because the Constitution does not grant him this power without Senate consent.

CONCURRED: Stevens concurs

The language of the UN Charter about a nation's obligation to heed an ICJ decision is too vague to be binding upon domestic courts.

DISSENT: Filed by Breyer; joined by Souter & Ginsburg

Standards for self-execution cannot be made clear in multilateral treaties since each country has its legal traditions for treaties. However, since the Vienna convention concerns an individual right AND the Supremacy Clause subjugates domestic law to treaties AND the ICJ asked Texas courts to hold a hearing on a legal issue AND the President favors this and Congress does not oppose it, the Supreme Court ought to enforce the ICJ decision.
Source: Supreme Court case 08-MEDELL argued on Oct 10, 2007

  • Click here for definitions & background information on Foreign Policy.
  • Click here for a profile of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
  • Wiki Profile of Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
  • Click here for VoteMatch responses by Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
  • Click here for AmericansElect responses by Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
  • Click here for all excerpts for Ruth Bader Ginsburg.
Other Justices on Foreign Policy: Ruth Bader Ginsburg on other issues:
Samuel Alito(since 2006)
Amy Coney Barrett(since 2020)
Stephen Breyer(since 1994)
Neil Gorsuch(since 2017)
Ketanji Brown Jackson(nominated 2022)
Elena Kagan(since 2010)
Brett Kavanaugh(since 2018)
John Roberts(since 2005)
Sonia Sotomayor(since 2009)
Clarence Thomas(since 1991)

Former Justices:
Merrick Garland(nominated 2016)
Ruth Bader Ginsburg(1993-2020)
Anthony Kennedy(1988-2018)
Antonin Scalia(1986-2016)
John Paul Stevens(1975-2010)
David Souter(1990-2009)
Sandra Day O'Connor(1981-2006)
William Rehnquist(1975-2005)

Party Platforms:
Democratic Platform
Green Platform
Libertarian Platform
Natural Law Platform
Reform Platform
Republican Platform
Tea Platform
Abortion
Budget/Economy
Civil Rights
Corporations
Crime
Drugs
Education
Energy/Oil
Environment
Families/Children
Foreign Policy
Free Trade
Govt. Reform
Gun Control
Health Care
Homeland Security
Immigration
Infrastructure/Technology
Jobs
Principles/Values
Social Security
Tax Reform
War/Iraq/Mideast
Welfare/Poverty





Page last updated: Mar 07, 2022