Abstract:
International human rights and notions of basic rights have had little influence on private law in the United States. Constitutional rights in the United States are almost exclusively viewed in terms of the individual’s relationship with the State, not individuals’ relations with each other. At the same time, US self-sufficiency and international power has allowed the United States to favor its parochial culture over international human rights discourse, a tendency further encouraged by legally and socially entrenched federalism. Virtually the only private law areas heavily influenced by notions of basic rights are anti-discrimination law and defamation, and both are easily distinguished exceptions in a country primarily focused on individual autonomy, parochial politics instead of international pressures, and federalism. Incorporation of international human rights and basic rights into US private law will likely remain very limited for the foreseeable future.
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Jonathan M Miller, The Influence of Human Rights and Basic Rights in Private Law in the United States. American Journal of Comparative Law, Volume 62, Summer 2014, 133-149. DOI: 10.5131/AJCL.2013.0020. Online Date: Thursday, July 17, 2014.
First posted 2014-07-24 14:30:18
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