Executive agreement

In general

Executive agreements are often used in order to bypass the requirements of national constitutions for ratification of treaties. Many nations that are republics with written constitutions have constitutional rules about the ratification of treaties. The Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe is based on executive agreements.

In the United States

Federal government

In the United States, executive agreements are binding internationally if they are negotiated and entered into under the president's authority in foreign policy, as commander-in-chief of the armed forces, or from a prior act of Congress. For instance, as commander-in-chief, the president negotiates and enters into status of forces agreements (SOFAs), which govern the treatment and disposition of U.S. forces stationed in other nations. The president cannot, however, enter unilaterally into executive agreements on matters that are beyond their constitutional authority. In such instances, an agreement would need to be in the form of a congressional-executive agreement, or a treaty with Senate advice and consent.

The U.S. Supreme Court, in United States v. Pink (1942), held that international executive agreements validly made have the same legal status as treaties and did not require Senate approval. In Reid v. Covert (1957), while reaffirming the president’s ability to enter into executive agreements, the court also held that such agreements cannot contradict existing federal law or the Constitution.

The Case–Zablocki Act of 1972 requires the president to inform the Senate within 60 days of any executive agreement being made. No restriction was placed on presidential powers to make such agreements. The notification requirement enabled Congress to vote to cancel an executive agreement, or to refuse to fund its implementation.

State government

Main article: Interstate compact

Governors or other statewide executive officers may sign onto joint agreements with their counterparts in other state governments which may not have the legal backing of their respective legislatures.

References

References

1. (2004). "The Encyclopedia of Civil Liberties in America". Routledge.
2. Kiki Caruson, and Victoria A. Farrar-Myers. "Promoting the president's foreign policy agenda: Presidential use of executive agreements as policy vehicles." ''Political Research Quarterly'' 60.4 (2007): 631–644.
3. [http://wps.prenhall.com/wps/media/objects/434/445252/DocumentsLibrary/docs/caseact.htm Case Act on Executive Agreements (1972)]
4. Ellen C. Collier, "Foreign Policy by Reporting Requirement." ''The Washington Quarterly'' 11.1 (1988): 75–84.