Constitutional Issues in Terminating U.S. Acceptance of Compulsory Jurisdiction (From International Court of Justice at a Crossroads, P 447-458, 1987, Lori Fisler Damrosch, ed. -- See NCJ-122854

• NCJ Number: 122872
• Author(s): M J Glennon
• Date Published: 1987
• Length: 12 pages
• Sale Source: Transnational Publisher Inc
• Publication Type: Legislation/Policy Analysis
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

The 1985 decision by the executive branch of the United States government to terminate the United States acceptance of the compulsory jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice probably could not be successfully challenged on constitutional grounds, but consultation with the U.S. Senate before changing policy so significantly would have been advisable.

Abstract

The 1946 decision to accept compulsory jurisdiction under the Optional Clause of the statute governing the Court occurred with Senatorial participation similar to the procedure for the approval of a treaty. However, the decision to terminate that acceptance was made by the executive branch alone, without consultation with the Senate. Nevertheless, any court action challenging the constitutionality of this termination would probably be dismissed for the same reason that the 1979 suit challenging the termination of the executive branch's termination of the mutual security treaty with the Republic of China was found to be non-justiciable. In addition, the lack of Congressional intent to take any conflicting action suggests the lack of a well-founded Constitutional objection to the 1984 termination. Nevertheless, consulting with the Senate prior to the termination would have been desirable, as it would have reflected the institutional roles of the executive and legislative branches of government. 152 footnotes.