Constitutional US Law

Category: Presidential Duties

  • Treaty as a Political Question

    Status of a Treaty as a Political QuestionIt is clear that many questions which arise concerning a treaty are of a political nature and will not be decided by the courts. In the words of Justice Curtis in Taylor v. Morton: 1 It is not "a judicia…

  • Treaties

    Treaties, Alliances, or Confederations (Powers Denied to the States)At the time of the Civil War, the Court relied on the prohibition on treaties, alliances, or confederations in holding that the Confederation formed by the seceding states could not be recognized as having any legal existence.<a nam…

  • Treaty Negotiation

    Negotiation, a Presidential MonopolyActually, the negotiation of treaties had long since been taken over by the President; the Senate's role in relation to treaties is today essentially legislative in character.1 "He alone negotiates. Into t…

  • Vacancies

    House of Representatives – VacanciesWhen vacancies happen in the Representation from any State, the Executive Authority thereof shall issue Writs of Election to fill such Vacancies.ResourcesNotes and ReferencesThis text about <a href="http://lawi.us/constitution-of-the-united-states-of…

  • Use of Force Abroad

    The Historic Use of Force AbroadIn 1912, the Department of State published a memorandum prepared by its Solicitor which set out to justify the Right to Protect Citizens in Foreign Countries by Landing Forces.1 In addition to the justification, the me…

  • War Crimes

    Articles of War: World War II CrimesAs a matter of fact, in General Yamashita's case,1 which was brought after the termination of hostilities for alleged "war crimes," the Court abandoned its restrictive conception altogether. In the wo…

  • Watergate Controversy

    The Watergate Controversy (Removal Power, Executive Establishment and Treaties)A dispute arose regarding the discharge of the Special Prosecutor appointed to investigate and prosecute violations of law in the Watergate matter. Congress vested in the Attorney General the power to conduct the criminal…

  • Wiener Case

    The Wiener Case (Removal Power, Executive Establishment and Treaties)Curtailment of the President's power of removal, so liberally delineated in the Myers decision, was not to end with the Humphrey case. Unresolved by the latter was the question whether the President, absent a provision expressl…

  • Termination of Treaties by Notice

    Termination of Treaties by NoticeTypically, a treaty provides for its termination by notice of one of the parties, usually after a prescribed time from the date of notice. Of course, treaties may also be terminated by agreement of the parties, or by breach by one of the parties, or by some other mea…

  • Treaties and Congress

    Treaties and CongressIn the Convention, a proposal to require the adoption of treaties through enactment of a law before they should be binding was rejected.1 But the years since have seen numerous controversies with regard to the duties and obligati…

  • Treaties and the States

    Treaties and the StatesAs it so happened, the first case in which the Supreme Court dealt with the question of the effect of treaties on state laws involved the same issue that had prompted the drafting of Article VI, paragraph 2. During the Revolutionary War, the Virginia legislature provided that …

  • Treaties Versus Prior Acts of Congress

    Treaties Versus Prior Acts of CongressThe Court has enforced numerous statutory provisions that it recognized as superseding prior treaty engagements. Chief Justice Marshall asserted that the converse would be true as well 1 -that a treaty that is sel…

  • Presidential Power

    The Theory of Presidential PowerThe fullest expression of the presidential power proponents has been in defense of the course followed in Indochina. Thus, the Legal Adviser of the State Department, in a widely circulated document, contended: "Under the Constitution, the President, in addition t…

  • Presidential War Agencies

    Presidential War AgenciesWhile congressional compliance with the President's demand rendered unnecessary an effort on his part to amend the Price Control Act, there were other matters as to which he repeatedly took action within the normal field of congressional powers, not only during the war, …

  • Prize Cases

    The Prize CasesThe basis for a broader conception was laid in certain early acts of Congress authorizing the President to employ military force in the execution of the laws.1 In his famous message to Congress of July 4, 1861,<a name=t2 href=#f2 targe…