The Sword and the Scales is the first in-depth and comprehensive study of attitudes and behaviors of the United States toward major international courts and tribunals.

1. International courts and tribunals and the rule of law John B. Bellinger, III; 2. American public opinion on international courts and tribunals Steven Kull and Clay Ramsay; 3. Arbitration and avoidance of war: the nineteenth century American vision Mary Ellen O'Connell; 4. The United States and the International Court of Justice: coping with antinomies Sean D. Murphy; 5. The U.S. Supreme Court and the International Court of Justice: what does 'respectful consideration' mean? Melissa A. Waters; 6. U.S. attitudes toward international criminal courts and tribunals John P. Cerone; 7. The United States and the Inter-American Court of Human Rights Elizabeth A. H. Abi-Mershed; 8. From paradox to subsidiarity: the United States and human rights treaty bodies Tara J. Melish; 9. The U.S. and international claims and compensation bodies John R. Crook; 10. Does the U.S. support international tribunals? The case of the multilateral trade system Jeffrey L. Dunoff; 11. The United States and dispute settlement under the North American Free Trade Agreement: ambivalence, frustration and occasional defiance David A. Gantz; 12. Dispute settlement under NAFTA Chapter 11: a response to the critics in the United States Susan L. Karamanian; 13. The United States and international courts: getting the cost-benefit analysis right Cesare P. R. Romano.