----- Original Message ----- From: "Charles Brown" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, December 22, 2004 1:07 PM Subject: [PEN-L] economics and class struggle behind legal victory
US has adopted much of UN law by treaty. By US Constitution, treaties have same legal status as federal statutes. Ergo, UN rights are U.S. law of the land. This is the basic legal theory.
Interesting approach.
It sounds like the web of international law is getting increasingly interwoven.
The UK government wrote the European Convention on Human Rights into UK law through the Human Rights Act. This allows a higher court to rule that an existing law or procedure is incompatible, and requires the government to propose to Parliament a remedy.
I have probably put that in lay language that is a bit too crude, but the legal approach has the advantage of some flexibility, but longer term some real impact.
It was under these provisions that 8/9 UK law lords have just ruled that the continued detention of 9 foreigners suspected of terrorism is incompatible with the "life of the nation"!
It does not immediately release the 9 but it means the government has little option but to respond, with legal and administrative concessions.
It allows us to participate in a Gramscian struggle of global dimensions, although each individual contribution may appear petty.
Thanks for sharing.
Chris Burford
