Epilogue
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 27 July 2009
Summary
In 1952, the Constitution was placed in inert gas-filled casements, hermetically sealed, and transferred into the custody and charge of the National Archives. Inthesameyear, another – albeit subtly symbolic – hermetic sealing of the Constitution was attempted. Members of Congress introduced the Bricker Amendment that would have hermeneutically sealed the Constitution from international law by under cutting the United States' treaty obligations. Fortunately, the proposed Bricker Amendment failed to pass.
Recently, the National Archives unsealed theConstitution's casements, repaired the parchment, and stabilized the ink. However, another preservation project must be undertaken by all of us. We, too, must unseal the Constitution and restore its original meaning whose text was inked in international law and whose courts' competencies are constrained and complemented by such law.
- Type
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- Information
- The Constitution as TreatyThe International Legal Constructionalist Approach to the U.S. Constitution, pp. 211 - 212Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2007