President/Executive Department Commons^™

Non-Tariff Import Restrictions: Remedies Available In United States Law, Craig Mathews

Michigan Law Review

Since World War II, a fundamental objective of the foreign policy of the United States has been to strengthen political and economic relationships among free-world nations. An integral element of this policy has been the expansion of international trade on mutually beneficial terms. The legal and practical problems of reducing or eliminating restrictions on the international movement of commodities have therefore assumed a major importance.

International commodity transactions have traditionally been subject to a wide range of such restrictions. In the case of imports, the most familiar barriers are tariffs and formal quotas or embargoes imposed by national governments. In …

International Law-Sovereign Immunity-State Court Authority To Determine Title To Property Under Its Jurisdiction Despite A Department Of State Suggestion Of Immunity, John A. Krsul Jr., S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

In 1952 plaintiff brought a creditor's action for the appointment of a permanent receiver for the assets of the defendant located in New York. Defendant, Zivnostenska Banka, was a Czechoslovak corporation that had at one time been engaged in banking activities in New York. Plaintiff succeeded in having a receiver appointed upon proving that defendant had been nationalized, contrary to New York policy and law, by a 1950 decree of the Czechoslovak Government which had merged the defendant and its assets with the State Bank of Czechoslovakia. The instant controversy arose when the receiver attempted to set aside, as a …

Frank: Lincoln As A Lawyer, Spencer L. Kimball

Michigan Law Review

A Review of Lincoln As A Lawyer By John P. Frank

International Law-Soverign Immunity-The First Decade Of The Tate Letter Policy, John M. Niehuss S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

On May 19, 1952, the State Department announced in the Tate Letter a new policy with regard to the filing of suggestions of immunity in suits against foreign sovereigns. The letter indicated that the Department would begin to follow a restrictive theory of sovereign immunity. This meant that it would file a suggestion of immunity if the case arose from acts of the foreign government or its agents which were of a purely governmental character (jure imperii), but would deny immunity in instances where the acts engaged in were of a commercial or proprietary nature which could be …

The Investigatory Powers Of The Comptroller General Of The United States, Gustave M. Hauser

Michigan Law Review

This article examines the statutory responsibility and authority of the Comptroller General to investigate executive action for the purpose of determining whether the legitimacy of his requests for information may be challenged by the executive branch on statutory as well as on constitutional grounds.

The Executive Department Of Government And The Rule Of Law, Frank E. Cooper

Michigan Law Review

For a long time, people have been talking about the executive department of government and the Rule of Law. Indeed, the suggestion of Aristotle that government should be by law, and not by men, represented a protest directed to the earlier Grecian systems of despotically controlled administrative law. It is my privilege this afternoon to carry forward the discussion of a problem that has been talked about for some two thousand years: how to apply the Rule of Law to the executive agencies of the government. They are commonly called "independent agencies" within the executive branch. I suggest that the …

The Supreme Court And The Rule Of Law, Paul G. Kauper

Michigan Law Review

I should like to approach this afternoon's subject along two lines. On the one hand, I propose to develop the subject in terms of the Supreme Court's contribution to our understanding of the Rule of Law, and, on the other hand, I propose to look at the Supreme Court as a governmental institution subject to the Rule of Law. In short, I propose to discuss the Supreme Court both as an instrumentality for the development of the American concept of the Rule of Law and as an institution governed by the Rule of Law. Needless to say, these two approaches …

The Civil Investigative Demand: New Fact-Finding Powers For The Antitrust Division, Richard L. Perry, William Simon

Michigan Law Review

The complexity, scope and length of modem antitrust litigation bring to prominence the procedures by which evidence - particularly documentary evidence - is discovered and placed before the courts and administrative agencies. Fact-finding mechanisms now available for ferreting out and prosecuting violations make up an imposing array. These include the grand jury subpoena, the discovery provisions of the Federal Rules of Civil and Criminal Procedure and the subpoena and visitorial powers of certain administrative agencies. The "civil investigative demand," a precomplaint compulsory process, is a new weapon proposed to be added to this arsenal. Few dispute the desirability of new …

Taxation - Federal Estate Tax - Effect Of Presidential Freezing Orders On The Creation Of Excludable Bank Deposits For Nonresident Aliens, William Y. Webb

Michigan Law Review

Decedent, a citizen and resident of France, was the sole income beneficiary of a trust fund held in New York by the plaintiff as trustee. An executive order, issued pursuant to the Trading with the Enemy Act, prohibited remittance of trust income to the decedent from 1940 to the time of her death in 1946. As this income accrued, the plaintiff's trust department transferred it to the plaintiff's general banking department in its own name as trustee and subject to its order out of current banking funds. In an action by the executor of the decedent-beneficiary's estate to recover an …

Constitutional Law - Right To Travel - Authority Of Secretary Of State To Deny Passports, Arnold Henson S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

Petitioner's application for a passport was denied under §51.135 of the Passport Regulations promulgated by the Secretary of State on the grounds that he was a Communist and that he had a record of consistent and prolonged adherence to the Communist Party line. The letter of denial stated that before a passport would be issued, a non-communist affidavit as provided for in the Regulations would be required. Following petitioner's refusal to file the affidavit the State Department informed him that until one was filed his application would receive no further consideration. Petitioner thereupon brought an action for declaratory relief in …

Constitutional Law - Executive Powers - Use Of Troops To Enforce Federal Laws, Robert H. Elliott Jr., S.Ed., Richard I. Singer S.Ed.

Michigan Law Review

The recent use of federal troops in Little Rock, Arkansas to enforce the order of a federal district court requiring school integration has occasioned widespread controversy throughout the nation. It is the purpose of this comment to examine the constitutionality of such action and to consider its broader implications with respect to federal-state and congressional-executive relationships.

The Legal Status Of The Red Cross, Wesley A. Sturges

Michigan Law Review

Red Cross is a term well known in the world at large; so is the heraldic emblem of the red cross on a white background. Many people in many lands use them to indicate and symbolize a variety of humanitarian purposes, principles and services. When the term is used as a proper name, generally it identifies an organization which is lawfully authorized to carry out those purposes and services under that name. Organizations by that name have been accorded exclusive authority to carry out the given humanitarian programs, exclusive authority to use the words, whether as a proper name or …

Federal Employee Invention Rights - Time To Legislate, Marcus B. Finnegan, Richard W. Pogue

Michigan Law Review

It is the purpose of this article to review judicial standards applicable to the determination of rights in inventions made by employees of the federal government, to note statutory provisions affecting the problem, to examine the content and effect of the present Executive program for determining such rights, to review and evaluate two fundamental and conflicting theories in this field, and to propose legislation establishing appropriate standards and procedures. This topic is believed to have general interest because, in addition to the urgencies suggested above, the problem touches some of the basic legal philosophy underlying the United States patent system.

Corwin & Koenig: The Presidency Today, Robert A. Dahl

Michigan Law Review

A Review of The Presidency Today. By Edward S. Corwin and Louis W. Koenig.

Incidents Of The Government-Servant Relationship, Ivor L.M. Richardson

Michigan Law Review

The procedures developed in the past five years to meet the threat of communist infiltration into public employment have focused attention on the position of persons working for the federal government. However, the loyalty program and the general problem of dismissal are not the only aspects of federal employment which raise important issues. Other aspects of the government-servant relationship may be of even greater importance to the civil servant in practice. For instance, what are his legal rights to his salary or to his pension if the government refuses to pay? Can he secure redress if he is suspended from …

Executive Proclamations And Orders-Federal Register, Everett S. Brown

Michigan Law Review

On July 26, 1935, President Roosevelt signed H. R. 6323, "to provide for the custody of Federal proclamations, orders, regulations, notices, and other documents, and for the prompt and uniform printing and distribution thereof." To date, there has been no government serial publication containing all of the Executive orders signed by the President. The need for such a publication had been frequently pointed out, but to no avail. Legal complication resulting from the rapidly rising flood of executive and administrative orders issued to carry into effect the President's New Deal program led to the framing of H. R. 6323. The …

Executive Power In Emergencies, Maurice S. Culp

Michigan Law Review

The events of the last few months indicate that the American chief executive is capable of vigorous action in emergencies. The executive frequently has to use the armed forces of the State or Nation in the performance of his duty to see that the laws are faithfully executed in troubled districts, but it is a new experience to have the governors and the President take emergency measures in combatting a depression. The banking crisis, which first received executive notice in Nevada last November and which attained alarming proportions with Governor Comstock's "bank holiday" in Michigan, culminated in the national holiday …

Constitutional Law-Power Of President To Approve A Bill After Final Adjournment

Michigan Law Review

The final adjournment of the 71st Congress occurred on March 4th, 1931. The day following, President Hoover signed Private Bill No. 510 (46 Stat. 2163) giving the Court of Claims jurisdiction to adjudicate the claims of one Edwards against the government. The question of the bill's validity was presented to the Supreme Court on certificate from the Court of Claims, and it was held valid. Edwards v. United States, (U.S. 1932) 52 Sup. Ct. 627.

Constitutional Law-Conclusiveness Of Consent Of Senate To Presidential Appointment

Michigan Law Review

On December 3, 1930, President Hoover submitted to the Senate the name of George Otis Smith as chairman and member of the Federal Power Commission, which Congress had created by an act approved June 23, 1930. On December 20, 1930, the Senate in open executive session voted to advise and consent to Smith's nomination. The president pro tem. announced that the President would be notified, and there was no objection. On the same day it was ordered that all resolutions of confirmation that day passed be forwarded "forthwith" to the President. The secretary of the Senate formally notified the …

Book Reviews

Michigan Law Review

A collection of book reviews by multiple authors.

Congress And The National Administration, John A. Farlie

Michigan Law Review

Under the Constitution of the United States, Congress is vested with legislative powers; and under the classical doctrine of the separation of powers, it is primarily a law-making organ. A recent writer on government has, however, analyzed its functions under seven heads, as follows: as a constituent assembly, a canvassing board and electoral college, an organ of public opinion, a board of directors, an organ of legislation, an executive council, and a high court of justice. In its capacity as board of directors, he also states that "the whole power of direction, supervision and control of administrative affairs is legally …

Pardons In Impeachment Cases, Maurice Taylor Van Hecke

Michigan Law Review

A year ago, Governor Miriam Ferguson, of Texas, approved an act of the legislature of that state, the gist of which reads as follows:

"That every person against whom any judgment of conviction has heretofore been rendered by the Senate of the State of Texas in any impeachment case, shall be and is hereby granted a full and unconditional release of any and all acts and offenses of which he was so convicted by said Senate of the State of Texas, upon any charge or proceedings of impeachment.

"That any and all penalties or punishment inflicted by or resulting from …

The Technique Of Judicial Appointment, Harold J. Laski

Michigan Law Review

It is difficult to overestimate the significance of the judiciary in the modern state. The work of the executive has become so vast, the powers delegated to it by the legislature are so wide, that judges are, perhaps more than at any previous time, the real safeguard of personal liberty. It is only necessary to recall cases like Coppage v. Kansas, or R. v. Halliday, to realize how nearly judicial activity goes to the very heart of freedom. That is, of course, even more the case when, as with America, the constitution of the state is written, and …

The Judicial Review Of Executive Acts, Albert Levitt

Michigan Law Review

The relation of the judiciary to the executive branch of the Government is a perplexing one. According to the Constitution, the government of the United States is threefold in character, legislative, executive and judicial. Each of these is supposed to be independent of the others. One cannot usurp the function of any one of the others. At the same time, this is a "Government of laws and not of men." It is equally true that this is a government of laws and not of political subdivisions or of the subdivisions of governmental mechanisms. Legislators, executives and judiciary must abide by …

Legislation And Judicial Decision, Rudolf Stammler

Michigan Law Review

The discussions of the theme indicated by the title usually start from Montesquieu's theory of the three powers. This famous doctrine is developed in his work "De 1' esprit des lois" (1748) Bk. II, Ch. 6. This chapter is entitled "Of the English Constitution". It discusses however all states in general. In every state there are three sorts of powers, the legislative authority, the executive authority in matters dependent upon the law of nations, and the executive authority in everything dependent upon civil law. The last Montesquieu calls the judicial power, while the one mentioned in the second place is …

The Supreme Court's Adjudication Of Constitutional Issues In 1921-1922, Thomas Reed Powell

Michigan Law Review

The power of Congress over the territories was involved in three cases. Balzac v. Porto Rico held that Porto Rico has not been "incorporated" into the United States so as to make applicable the constitutional requirement of trial by jury in criminal cases. This had been substantially settled in some of the Insular Cases, leaving only the question whether the situation had since been changed. In holding that it had not, Chief Justice Taft placed chief reliance on the absence of any explicit declaration by Congress and on the fact that in the Organic Act of Porto Rico of March …

Indemnity Act Of 1863 A Study In The War-Time Immunity Of Governmental Officers, James G. Randall

Michigan Law Review

One of the familiar measures of the Union administration during the Civil War was the suspension of the habeas corpus privilege and the consequent subjection of civilians to military authority. The essential irregularity of such a situation in American law is especially conspicuous when one considers its inevitable sequel-namely, the protection of military and civil officers from such prosecution as would normally follow invasion of private rights and actual injury of persons and property. Such protection was supplied by a bill of indemnity passed in 1863, and this law, with its amendment of i866, forms a significant chapter in the …

Termination Of War, John M. Mathews

Michigan Law Review

The termination of war must, at the outset, be distinguished Ifrom the termination of hostilities or actual warfare. As has been said, war is "not the mere employment of force, but the existence of the legal condition of things in which rights are or may be prosecuted by force. Thus, if two nations declare war one against the other, war exists, though no force whatever may as yet have been employed."' Similarly, it follows that, although actual hostilities have ceased, the status of war may continue until terminated in some regular way recognized by international law as sufficient for that …

United States Department Of State, John M. Mathews

Michigan Law Review

In the conduct of foreign relations, the President, though ultimately responsible to the people for the general success or failure of such conduct, is unable, of course, to give his personal attention to any except what he deems to ,be the most important and momentous questions of policy. For handling the great mass of routine matters and even for the determination of many questions of policy which are of considerable importance, he is dependent upon the assistance of the agencies supplied for that purpose. These agencies are, principally, the department of state, the diplomatic service, and the consular service. These …

British War Cabinets, John A. Fairlie

Michigan Law Review

During the progress of the present world war there has been a remarkable series of developments in the British Cabinet and, ministry, involving not only many changes of personnel but also fundamental alterations in the constitution of the Cabinet and its relations to Parliament. An analysis of these is not only of interest as an important phase of the history of the war, and the evolution of political institutions; but is also of value in dealing with problems and proposals for governmental reorganization in the United States.