By Lawrence Hurley
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday struck down a law that would allow American citizens born in Jerusalem to have Israel listed as their birthplace on passports, handing a victory to President Barack Obama’s administration.
The Obama administration argued that the law unlawfully
encroached on the president’s power to set foreign policy and would
have, if enforced, undermine the U.S. government’s claim to be a neutral
peacemaker in the Middle East.
“Congress cannot command the president to contradict an
earlier recognition determination in the issuance of passports,” Justice
Anthony Kennedy, a conservative who often casts the deciding vote in
close cases, wrote in the majority opinion.
The court was divided, with the court’s four liberal
members joining Kennedy in the majority. One of the court’s
conservatives, Justice Clarence Thomas, agreed with part of the ruling.
The court’s other conservatives, Chief Justice John Roberts, Justice
Antonin Scalia and Justice Samuel Alito, all dissented.
Congress passed the law in 2002 when President George W.
Bush was president, but neither his administration nor the current Obama
administration ever enforced it.
Full article available here: http://www.euronews.com/newswires/3023365-us-top-court-invalidates-jerusalem-passport-law/
Source: Euronews
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