YALE LAW JOURNAL

This article begins by recognizing that gays and lesbians world-wide continue to face severe persecution and state-sanctioned violence on account of their sexual orientation. The lack of clear guidelines on what constitutes persecution under the 1951 Refugee Convention often results in violence against sexual minorities being categorized as discrimination as opposed to persecution. The article argues that human rights standards should be incorporated into asylum law to help develop the concept of persecution.

Like domestic law, transnational public law seeks to vindicate public rights and values through judicial remedies. What makes transnational public law unique is that it melds two conventional modes of litigation that have traditionally been considered unique: domestic and international litigation. Private individuals, government officials, and nations sue one another directly in a variety of judicial fora, most prominently domestic courts, and invoke claims of rights based on a body of "transnational law" that blends domestic and international law.

This article examines the role of the American judiciary with respect to enforcing international law. It reviews the arguments for and against the adjudication of international issues and distinguishes between so-called horizontal (state-to-state) and vertical (state-to-person) models of international law. She argues that domestic courts do and should adjudicate "vertical" cases while they appropriately back away from "horizontal" cases.