c. Commerce and Spending Powers
In addition to the Thirteenth Amendment, Congress may regulate private conduct through the Commerce and Spending powers it possesses under Article I of the Constitution. For example, it was under the Commerce Clause that Congress passed Title II and Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibit private entities from discriminating in public accommodations and employment. See Katzenbach v. McClung, 379 U.S. 294 (1964). The Fair Housing Act is similarly grounded in the Commerce Clause. Further, it was under Congress' Spending Power as well as under its authority under Section 5 of the Fourteenth Amendment, that Congress passed Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination by public and private institutions that receive federal funds. Lau v. Nichols, 414 U.S. 563 (1974).
Arguably, the reference to "public life" in the definition of "racial discrimination" in Article 1(1) of the present Convention might be read to limit the reach of its prohibitions to actions and conduct involving some measure of governmental involvement or "state action." The negotiating history of the Convention is far from clear on this point, however, and it is not possible to say with certainty that the term "public life" as contemplated by the drafters is synonymous with the permissible sphere of governmental regulation under U.S. law. Moreover, the Committee appears to have taken an expansive view in this regard, finding in the Convention a prohibition against racial discrimination perpetuated by any person or group against another. Accordingly, some forms of private individual or organizational conduct that are not now subject to governmental regulation under U.S. law could well be found within the sphere of "public life" as that term is interpreted under the Convention.
Accordingly, it was appropriate to indicate clearly, through a formal reservation, that U.S. undertakings in this regard are limited by the reach of constitutional and statutory protections under U.S. law as they may exist at any given time:
[T]he Constitution and laws of the United States establish extensive protections against discrimination, reaching significant areas of non-governmental activity. Individual privacy and freedom from governmental interference in private conduct, however, are also recognized as among the fundamental values which shape our free and democratic society. The United States understands that the identification of the rights protected under the Convention by reference in Article 1 to fields of "public life" reflects a similar distinction between spheres of public conduct that are customarily the subject of governmental regulation, and spheres of private conduct that are not. To the extent, however, that the Convention calls for a broader regulation of private conduct, the United States does not accept any obligation under this Convention to enact legislation or take other measures under paragraph (1) of Article 2, subparagraphs (1)(c) and (d) of Article 2, Article 3 and Article 5 with respect to private conduct except as mandated by the Constitution and laws of the United States.
Dispute Settlement
In accordance with its long-standing policy, the United States also conditioned its adherence to the Convention upon a reservation requiring its consent to the exercise of the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice over any dispute that might arise between it and another State Party. The text of this reservation is identical to those recently taken upon ratification of other treaties, including the ICCPR:
[W]ith reference to Article 22 of the Convention, before any dispute to which the United States is a party may be submitted to the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice under this article, the specific consent of the United States is required in each case.
