Practice Questions on Academic Activists

11. U.S. international law professors and human rights activists

a. Persuaded U.S. courts to enforce judgments of the ICJ.
b. Assisted other countries challenging U.S. practices in international organizations.
c. Influenced Congress to ratify international human rights treaties granting rights beyond U.S. guarantees.
d. Lobbied the President to appoint federal judges who would follow international law.

12. U.S. judges

a. Promoted the U.S. legal system and procedures as a model for developing countries.
b. Shielded foreign officials from lawsuits brought by torture victims in U.S. courts.
c. Reinterpreted the Constitution’s 8th Amendment ban on “cruel and unusual punishment” to include guarantees from international human rights treaties.
d. Rejected friend of the court briefs submitted by international organizations.

13. The procedural default rule prevented LaGrand from

a. Claiming ineffective assistance of counsel in state court.
b. Introducing a consular notice claim in federal court.
c. Taking more than one appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court
d. Raising an international law argument in state or federal court.

14. Which government did not ask an international tribunal to rule against U.S. execution of its nationals?

a. Germany
b. Honduras
c. Mexico
d. Paraguay

15.  How does the Inter American Court of Human Rights differ from the Inter American Commission on Human Rights?

a. The U.S. has consented to the CourtÕs jurisdiction but is not bound by Commission decisions.
b.  The courtÕs decisions are legally binding only on consenting state parties, and the Commission makes recommendations to all OAS members.
c.  The UN rapporteur on summary executions may petition the Commission but has no standing in the Court.
d.  The Commission but not the Court expressed concern about U.S. death penalty procedures.

16. In which case did the U.S. argument against another government at the ICJ resemble the argument Germany made against the U.S. for LaGrand?

a. U.S. response to Paraguay’s claim for Angelo Breard.
b. U.S. claim that Nicaragua’s aggression justified collective self defense.
c. U.S. charge against Iran on behalf of detained embassy personnel.
d. U.S. argument that Palestine Liberation Organization representatives could be denied admission to the U.N. as terrorists.