Zivotofsky v. Kerry concerns disputed borders, territorial and constitutional. Is Jerusalem part of Israel? May Congress force the President to issue passports that are premised on the conviction that Jerusalem is within Israel? The Court disclaimed any desire to opine on the first question. On the second, it declared that the Constitution grants the President an exclusive power to recognize other nations, governments, and their territorial claims. Based on its conclusion that the presidency had exclusive authority over recognition, the Court held that Congress could not command the President to issue documents that intimated that Jerusalem was part of Israel. Part I recounts the case and the opinions. Part II discusses the merits, including what the statute sought to accomplish, why authority over recognition is likely shared, and why Congress had no authority to enact the statute. Part III considers Zivotofsky's future impact.
Citation
Saikrishna Prakash, Zivotofsky and the Separation of Powers, 2015 Supreme Court Review 1–39 (2015).