米国最高裁ローパー対サイモンズ判決における国際人権法の影響

概要

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In Roper v. Simmons, the United States Supreme Court held that the imposition of the death penalty on those who were under the age of eighteen when their crimes were committed constitutes cruel and unusual punishment forbidden by the Eighth Amendment. This decision was an historic event because the supreme court could account for the national consensus that did not exist when Stanford Case was decided and gave substantial consideration to international opinions. When the Majority interpreted the Eighth Amendment, they used two Human Rights treaties, namely, the Convention on the Rights of the Child and International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as a means of the interpretation of Constitution. The former isn't ratified by the United States, and the latter is ratified but its Article 6 is reserved by the United States. It was very shocked that the Supreme Court used these treaties and the clauses which weren't admitted formally by the United States and decided that the execution to the juvenile who commttted the murder was forbidden by the Eighth Amendment. This paper will examine the influence of International Human rights treaties into the Supreme Court through opinions of justices and briefs of Amici Curieae.