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Article: Is the United States Bound by the Customary International Law of Torture? A Proposal for ATS Litigation in the War on Terror
- Article from:
- Chicago Journal of International Law
- Article date:
- January 1, 2006
- Author:
CopyrightCopyright University of Chicago Law School Winter 2006. Provided by ProQuest LLC. (Hide copyright information)
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"Regardless of its substance, however, customary international law cannot bind the executive branch under the Constitution because it is not federal law."1
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001 were a seminal moment for the United States. This horrific act of murder and destruction inspired the United States to declare "war on terror,"2 a war unlike any other in American history. For the first time, the United States is at war with international non-state actors-terrorist groups-not supported by specific nation-states; all previous wars have been against international sovereigns. Moreover, the War on Terror is not limited to a discrete set of enemies but extends to the concept of ...