How much are other countries laws influencing Americas?
Legal matters The insidious wiles of foreign influence Jun 9th 2005 From The Economist print edition How much are other countries’ laws influencing America’s?FOR the first century of their country’s history, American lawmakers and judges repeatedly looked beyond America’s borders, particularly to England, for precedents that could help their own legal thinking. Over the next century, America ardently supported efforts to create a framework of international laws and institutions. But since the end of the cold war, and particularly since the election of George Bush, it has grown increasingly resistant to foreign influence. Or so many outsiders claim. In fact, the debate about the relationship between American law and foreign laws is more complicated than it appears, and Americans themselves are far from united (or consistent) on the subject. Some, such as John Bolton, set to become Mr Bush’s ambassador to the United Nations, believe that treaties that constrain American sovereignty in an
