Scholars of international law, constitutional law, and international relations gathered at Fordham Law School on February 21 for this year’s Fordham Law International Law Journal’s annual symposium, which centered on the theme of judicial power and US foreign affairs.
The topic stemmed from the recent publication of Professor Martin S. Flaherty’s new book, Restoring the Global Judiciary: Why the Supreme Court Should Rule in US Foreign Affairs. In the book, Flaherty argues that the US Supreme Court should take a more involved role globally, mitigating the power of the executive branch. Symposium editor Irene Xu ’20 called the topic timely and “highly controversial,” saying, “SCOTUS has significantly evolved on the issue over time, from the 1936 Curtiss-Wright weapons exportation case to 2018’s Trump v. Hawaii [the ‘Muslim ban’].”
The symposium opened with a lively scholarly debate about whether or not the judicial branch should intervene in the United States’ foreign affairs. Professor Flaherty participated in the debate before moderating the second panel, “Evolving Judicial Intervention on US Foreign Policy.”
Professor Thomas Lee, currently on leave to serve as special counsel to the general counsel of the Department of Defense, returned to Fordham to speak on the day’s third panel, entitled “How Modern International Relations Impact the Supreme Court: Trends and Prospects.”
The timeliness of the theme attracted students and professionals alike. Xu noted, “The composition of the audience is very diverse; in addition to students, scholars and alumni, there are outside lawyers, organization directors, as well as writers and publishers.”
