The Rights International Companion to Criminal Law & Procedure

Over the last ten years there have been dramatic changes in international relations accompanied by an exponential growth of international law -- especially in human rights and humanitarian law. To competently meet the challenges presented by these developments, law students and lawyers must learn how international law relates to, informs, and can trump domestic law in the fields of constitutional law, property, and criminal law and procedure. International law, however, is rarely required in law school. In constitutional law classes, one seldom sees any discussion of international law even though international law formed much of the U.S. Supreme Court's early jurisprudence and continues to have important consequences for present-day litigation. In property law classes, international law needs to be taught because property interests are becoming transnational, and a substantial body of international law addressing takings, forfeiture, and regulation of property has developed. In criminal law and procedure classes, international law will increasingly become material to U.S. domestic law as the International Tribunals for Yugoslavia and Rwanda decide more and more cases, and the Inter