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Ex Parte Young And Federal Remedies For Human Rights Treaty Violations, David Sloss

Washington Law Review

The doctrine of Ex parte Young is typically described as an exception to the immunity granted by the Eleventh Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. This Article contends that the Young doctrine also stands for the proposition that the Supremacy Clause creates an implied right of action for injunctive relief against state and local government officers who violate federal statutes or treaties. That right of action is available to plaintiffs who seek to enforce federal statutes or treaties against government officers unless Congress foreclosed the availability of a Young remedy when it enacted the statute, or the treaty makers foreclosed the …