The U.S. Senate has approved the nomination of a Korean-American scholar to the post of legal adviser at the U.S. State Department.

The Senate voted 62-to-35 on Thursday to confirm Harold Hongju Koh as the department’s top lawyer.

Some Republicans have criticized Koh’s view that international human rights standards should apply to U.S. regulations, raising concerns that international legal standards may encroach on the U.S. legal system.

But Democratic support allowed Koh’s confirmation to pass without difficulty.

Koh served as assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor in the Clinton Administration and was nominated by President Barack Obama for the post of State Department legal adviser.