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MAX HILAIRE
CYIL 4 ȍ2013Ȏ
Program. He has traveled extensively, and consulted for the Department of State,
United States Agency for International Development, the Africa Center for Strategic
Studies at the National Defense University inWashington, and various international
organizations. Dr. Hilaire teaches courses both at the graduate and undergraduate
levels in Public International Law, International Organizations & International
Humanitarian Law, United States Foreign Relations Law, International Human
Rights & Humanitarian Law, United Nations Law, and International Relations
Theory.
Dr. Hilaire has authored three books: International Law and United States Military
Intervention in the Western Hemisphere (Kluwer Law International Pub.), United
Nations Law and the Security Council (Ashgate Publisher), and The United States
and International Law (Kendall Hunt Publisher); and a number of journal articles
on international law, international human rights and humanitarian law.
Dr. Hilaire has previously taught at Morgan State University, the Washington
Center, Empire State College in Prague, and University of New York Prague
(UNYP), Central European University in Budapest, Charles University Faculty
of Law in Prague, Anglo-American University in Prague, Obafemi Awolowo
University in Nigeria, Colgate University in New York, Marymount College of
New York, and Universidad de las Americas in Puebla, Mexico.
1. Introduction
United States attitude toward international law is mixed; it is both positive and
negative, depending on the time frame which one is looking at and the administration
in power. It also depends on the issue areas. Different administrations take different
approaches to international law, and their tendency toward trade is quite different
from security issues. However, there is a general underlining trend in United States
attitude toward international law from one administration to the next. To get a better
understanding of U.S. attitude toward international law one must first understand
the structure of the Government of the United States, specifically the allocation of
power between the three equal branches of the federal government, and the division
of power and responsibility between the federal government and the various states.
The U.S. government is unique among Western democracies. In Europe the Prime
Minister or President has absolute power because the executive and legislative branches
are combined, and the head of government commands a majority in parliament,
which allows for automatic passage of any legislation. In the United States system of
government, on the other hand, the executive branch, headed by the president, shares
equal power with the legislative branch, comprising the House of Representatives
and the Senate, and the Supreme Court. The structure of the United States federal
system of government, with several layers of governmental authority at the federal,
state and local levels, makes it difficult to implement and enforce international law
domestically. I will address that structure of power within the federal government
and between the federal government and the states. But before I begin, let me speak