Scholars Say ACTA Needs Senate Approval

suraj.sun passes along this excerpt from Wired: "More than 70 academics, mostly legal scholars, are urging President Barack Obama to open a proposed international intellectual-property agreement to public review before signing it. The likely route for that is bringing the [Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement] to the Senate for ratification. ... the intellectual property accord, which Obama could sign by year's end, has pretty much been hammered out in secret between the European Union, Japan, the United States and a few other international players, including Canada and Australia. Noticeably absent is China. That said, these academics suggested that Obama does not have the authority to unilaterally sign the accord, which has been in the works for three years and is nearly final. Instead, they said, it should be considered a treaty, necessitating two-thirds Senate approval."

Comments

Re:We need scholars to tell us that?

[dkleinsc]

For the curious, Article 2, Section 2:
"[The President] shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur."

Treaties of the United States have to be ratified by the Senate. This is hardly news.

Can we think rationally here?

[Anonymous Coward]

In brief, this article says: "Scholars are begging the President to take public input before signing an agreement worked out in secret with other government's leaders."

Does that sound like democracy to you? Does it even sound like a democratic republic?

Right now, we are ruled by a king (albeit an elected one, though elections of course are won by the best-funded) who we have to beg to take input from the people. There is no democracy in there at all.

When will we learn to open source all forms of governance, and let everyone have a real say in the things that deeply affect their own lives?

A fancy form of direct democracy might not be perfect, but could it be any worse than this sort of plutocratic authoritarianism we live under now?

Re:We need scholars to tell us that?

[Conspiracy_Of_Doves]

Yes, but Obama is trying to pass this off as being something other than a treaty.

Re:We need scholars to tell us that?

[Compaqt]

Reason: GOP gets Chamber of Commerce support, Dems get Hollywood support.

Re:Bad move

[alSeen]

Treaties do NOT supersede the Constitution.

"This [Supreme] Court has regularly and uniformly recognized the supremacy of the Constitution over a treaty." - Reid v. Covert, October 1956, 354 U.S. 1, at pg 17

Re:Bad move

[Jaysyn]

This has become a popular meme in politics, but it simply isn't true. Re: Reid v. Covert, October 1956

More info here, here, & here.