Quotes about Treaty Law

Elisabeth Zoller

Preventive self defense is permissible under the Charter of the United Nations. The Charter is a treaty governed by the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties.

Alexander Hamilton

Its objects are CONTRACTS with foreign nations which have the force of law, but derive it from the obligations of good faith.

Leonard Peltier

There are tribes, I should say nations, which prior to the AIM movement had only ten or fifteen employees, and now have upwards of 2000. There are educational programs that didn't exist before, there are housing programs, health programs, senior citizen programs, cultural programs and the list goes on. It's all because some people stood up and said sovereignty is our right by treaty and the constitution says treaty law is the supreme law of the land.

Jose Manuel Barroso

The E.U. is founded on the Treaties which apply only to the Member States who have agreed and ratified them.

Theodore Roosevelt

I should not dream of asking the permission of Congress That treaty is the law of the land and I shall execute it. It is essential to give independence to the Executive in dealing with foreign powers. I am willing to accept responsibility to establish precedents which successors may follow.

to send troops to Cuba The problem in Cuba was not even a crisis for America. But the precedent became the beginning of a huge change in the balance of power between the President and Congress. Together with his huge popularity, Roosevelt could do almost anything and have public support, but the war powers—the authority to send American troops into harm’s way—started their profound shift from requiring the President to ask Congress to declare war and the President acting unilaterally which had become common by the 21st century.

Alexander Hamilton

The treaties of the United States, to have any force at all, must be considered as part of the law of the land.

Sonia Sotomayor

Even though Article IV of the Constitution says that treaties are the 'supreme law of the land', in most instances they're not even law.

American Bar Association

A provision of a treaty which conflicts with any portion of this Constitution shall not be of any force or effect. A treaty shall become effective as internal law in the United States only through legislation by Congress …

William Rawle

The effect of a treaty on state constitutions and state laws cannot be questioned. Without considering whether it operates directly as a repeal of them, we are warranted in saying that an act done under a state law, in opposition to a treaty, cannot be set up as a legal bar to a proceeding founded on a treaty.

This constitutional interpretation is what has caused many conservative Americans to generally oppose treaties and trade pacts. They claim that U. S. sovereignty is whittled away whenever a treaty is signed. And a treaty can possibly not only nullify state law in some instances, but prevent a state from legislating in a given area. The number of treaties and international agreements that American Presidents have signed but Congress would not ratify is quite large.

Treaty Law Quotes