A Reception Study on International Law in the US

Vincent Chetail, Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies (HEI), has published Vattel and the American Dream: An Inquiry into the Reception of the Law of Nations in the United States  in The Roots of International Law: Liber Amicorum Peter Haggenmacher 251 (V. Chetail & P.-M. Dupuy eds.; Martinus Nijhoff, 2013). Here is the abstract.

No other book on international law has been more widely read and cited than The Law of Nations by Vattel. The present article identifies and analyses the various reasons that explain Vattel’s authority in the United States. It first retraces his influence on the Founding Fathers, on the subsequent diplomatic and judicial practice, and on the legal doctrine in the United States. The article then examines his conception of national sovereignty as the most decisive reason explaining Vattel’s influence in the United States and the overall impact of his work.

Download the essay from SSRN at the link.