Courses | Columbia Law School

This course examines the constitutional division of powers over matters touching on foreign affairs, including the role of the President, Congress, the courts, and the several states. The course examines the constitutional sources of authority over foreign relations and the constitutional and other legal mechanisms that limit the exercise of that authority, including separation of powers, federalism, the protection of individual rights, and the role of international law in constitutional foreign relations. Topics include the roles of the President, Congress and the courts in the initiation and regulation of war and covert action, treaty negotiation and enforcement, and authority over immigration and appropriations. We will consider the power of the courts to review foreign affairs questions, including the role of the courts in applying international law and limiting doctrines such as congressional standing and the political question doctrine. We will also consider the appropriate role of the several states in foreign relations. With respect to individual rights, the course will examine the application of the Bill of Rights when national security is implicated, application of the Constitution abroad, and the rights of aliens.