Foreign Affairs Law

The United States does not exist in a vacuum; it is part of and a key player in an integrated world. As such, U.S. governance decisions routinely touch on, relate to, and are affected by things that happen outside our national borders. This course is about the law that regulates those decisions. The course covers the distribution of foreign affairs authorities among the three branches of the federal government; the incorporation of international law into the U.S. legal system; and the doctrines that limit judicial involvement in this area. Where relevant, we will discuss these topics in the context of current events.

The class will be graded on the basis of a three-hour in-class exam and class participation.