President/Executive Department Commons^™

Executive Branch Fact Deference As A Separation Of Powers Principle, Emily A. Kile

Indiana Law Journal

This Note concludes that, although Zivotofsky I provides a basis for judicial review of the legality of the Obama Administration’s “hostilities” determination (and, by extension, other questions of statutory interpretation related to foreign affairs), that review could be blunted by judicial deference to the executive branch’s factual determinations relevant to whether the Libyan airstrikes constituted “hostilities” within the War Powers Resolution. By addressing the political question doctrine’s history and the response to Zivotofsky I, this Note will explore whether the political question doctrine—particularly in cases of statutory interpretation—has lost some of its force as a justiciability doctrine. This Note will …

The Temptation Of Executive Authority: How Increased Polarization And The Decline In Legislative Capacity Have Contributed To The Expansion Of Presidential Power, Edward G. Carmines, Matthew Folwer

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

This paper argues that our increasingly polarized politics has led to political stalemate and policy gridlock in Congress which, in turn, have contributed to a change in the balance of power between the executive and legislative branches of government; specifically, executive power has increased at the expense of a diminished legislature. The paper will trace the extent to which Congress has become increasingly polarized and how this increased polarization has reduced Congress's capability and productivity while simultaneously increasing policy gridlock resulting in the expansion of executive power (and judicial authority) relative to legislative authority

Globalization And The Growth Of Executive Power: An Old Story, Alasdair Roberts

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

Americans have always worried about an undue concentration of power in the executive branch. Recently, people have worried that globalization might be making the problem even worse. But the concern is overstated, or at least misstated. Globalization is not a new phenomenon, and most of its effect on executive power was realized decades ago. And globalization might undermine executive power, rather than bolster it, either because globalization undermines the authority of the nation-state or shifts authority to technocrats. If there is a general tendency toward increased executive power in the twenty-first century, this is might attributable more directly to other …

The President's Private Dictionary: How Secret Definitions Undermine Domestic And Transnational Efforts At Executive Branch Accountability, Sudha Setty

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

The 2016 EU-U.S. Privacy Shield is an agreement allowing companies to move customer data between the European Union and the United States without running afoul of heightened privacy protections in the European Union. It was developed in response to EU concerns that the privacy rights of its citizens have been systematically abrogated by the U.S. government in the name of national security, and contains a variety of assurances that the United States will respect and protect the privacy rights of EU citizens.

How trustworthy are the U.S. assurances under the Privacy Shield? Both the Bush and Obama administrations secretly interpreted …

Global Cybersecurity, Surveillance, And Privacy: The Obama Administration's Conflicted Legacy, Peter Margulies

Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies

To analyze the Obama administration's cyber efforts, this Article proposes a paradigm of stewardship with both discursive and structural dimensions. Discursive stewardship refers to the Executive's openness to dialogue with other stakeholders. Structural stewardship refers to the domestic and transnational distribution of decisional authority, including checks and balances that guard against the excesses of unilateral action. The Article concludes that the Obama administration made substantial progress in each of these realms. However, the outsized role of law enforcement agendas and dearth of clearly articulated checks on transnational surveillance drove headwinds that limited forward movement.

Realizing An Opportunity: Limiting The Power Of The Executive In The Iraqi Constitution, Cory Kopitzke

Indiana Journal of Constitutional Design

In the summer of 2015, Iraqi citizens took to the streets in protest. After going without essential services, such as electricity, in the sweltering heat and after enduring corruption that undermined Iraqi forces battling the Islamic State, these citizens called for meaningful changes in the management of the Iraqi government and for the fulfillment of “democratic aspirations” enshrined in the Iraqi Constitution. In response to these protests, Iraqi Prime Minister, Haider al-Abadi, proposed sweeping reform measures to combat the decisive divides in the current administration. These reforms called for drastic change—including the elimination of the vice-president and deputy prime minister …