Reading Room Document

Constitutionality of Proposed Conditions to Senate Consent to the Interim Convention on Conservation of North Pacific Fur Seals

A proposed condition on the Senate's consent to the Interim Convention on Conservation of North Pacific Fur Seals that dictates how the United States representative to the international North Pacific Fur Seal Commission must vote on certain matters before the Commission is unconstitutional because, rather than setting forth the Senate's understanding of the terms of the convention, it would interfere with the ability of the President and his appointee to execute faithfully the convention according to its terms. The OLC does not provide release dates for its opinions, so the release date listed is the date on which the opinion was authored. The original opinion is available at www.justice.gov/file/23801/download.

February 6, 1986