President George W. Bush faced sharp criticism at the US Supreme Court on Wednesday for abusing his presidential powers in a case involving international law and the death penalty.

Liberals regularly accuse Mr Bush of grabbing too much power within America’s system of divided government, usurping the authority of the other two branches of government, Congress and the judiciary. Conservatives normally defend his expansive notion of presidential power, which has been especially controversial when it comes to authorising torture techniques in the war on terror.