The Fine Print

Reader Rick Barton sends me an interesting article from yesterday's New York Times. It describes a little-noted byproduct of Nafta:

"It's basically been under the radar screen," Peter Spiro, a law professor at Hofstra University, said. "But it points to a fundamental reorientation of our constitutional system. You have an international tribunal essentially reviewing American court judgments."

Update: And here's a harsh critique of the Times piece from Brad DeLong, who points out that it's very misleading to describe the Nafta tribunals as an appeals court.