The Congress shall have Power…To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations
Yes, Law of Nations is CAPITALIZED, meaning our framers were citing a proper name. There was only one Law of Nations in 1787 officially declared. And yes, Congress has the power to create and enforce ANY LAW mentioned in the Law of Nations written by Emmerich de Vattel.
OMG, that’s ridiculous! What books were “Power,” “Piracies and Felonies,” “Seas” and “Offenses” referring to? Vattel’s book was called “Le Droit des Gens,” which, translated, would be, “The Right of People.”* It was re-titled, “Law of Nations” precisely because such concept was already well understood in the Anglosphere due to the work of different authors.
(”Les Gens” is “the people,” whereas “Les Peuples” refers to “the peoples.” “Loi” is “law,” as opposed to “droit,” which refers to “rights.” “The Right of Nations” would be a poor translation, however, since it would be confused as referring to the rights of government, which is the precise opposite intention of the Founders. But Vattel did not refer to the “Law of Peoples” because the Founders’ concept of Natural Law was alien to Vattel’s francophone audience. France’s judicial system was based on Ancient Rome’s, and neither the medieval church’s, or the Britain’s natural law.)