Publication Date:
Source:
Update June 30, 2008 —National War Powers Commission to Release Findings, Recommendations at Capitol Hill Press Conference, July 8, 2008: Former Secretaries of State James A. Baker, III, and Warren Christopher, co-chairs of the National War Powers Commission, will hold a press conference to announce their panel's unanimous findings and recommendations at 11:00 AM ET on July 8 in the Cannon Caucus Room, 345 Cannon House Office Building in Washington, D.C. The full report will be available for download on this website. For information: Amy Poftak, 650.725.7516, poftak@law.stanford.edu
Update January 10, 2008 — At its recent meeting hosted by Stanford Law School, The National War Powers Commission heard presentations from Abraham Sofaer at the Hoover Institute, Stanford history professor David Kennedy, and Professors Jenny Martinez and Allen Weiner from Stanford Law School. The Commission, formed in February 2007, is examining how the Constitution allocates the powers of beginning, conducting, and ending war and intends to produce a report making recommendations to assist Presidents, Congresses, Courts, and other policymakers in addressing war powers issues. When they are issued, the Commission's recommendations will be entirely prospective in nature and not applicable to the present presidential Administration or present Congress.
STANFORD, Calif., May 7, 2007—Stanford Law School has been selected to be one of five partner institutions of a new National War Powers Commission, a private bipartisan panel co-chaired by former secretaries of state James A. Baker III and Warren Christopher.
The commission, launched by the Miller Center of Public Affairs at the University of Virginia, will examine how the U.S. Constitution allocates the powers of beginning, conducting, and ending war. It will seek consensus on an issue that has been unresolved for 200 years: how the three branches of government, but primarily the president and Congress, are to exercise their prerogatives in shaping American war and peace.
The commission aims to produce a report making recommendations to help Presidents, Congresses, courts, and other policymakers address war powers issues. Its recommendations will be entirely prospective in nature and not applicable to the present presidential Administration or present Congress.
"Statesmen and scholars—from the first Secretary of State, Thomas Jefferson, to the great late dean of the Stanford Law School, John Hart Ely—have struggled with war powers questions,” said former Secretary of State and Stanford Law alumnus Warren Christopher. “Secretary Baker, the commission, and I are hoping to bring our practical experience to bear to help the country at this critical time. The commission’s goal is to help establish guiding principles, on a prospective basis, that will temper debates over process and allow the nation to focus on the substantive questions of when and how to go to war, how to conduct war, and when and how to end it. Few questions have such a profound impact on the well-being of our nation's citizens and soldiers and the lives of our brethren throughout the world.”
As a partner institution, it is anticipated that Stanford Law School will provide scholarly expertise, conduct research, and hold commission meetings.
“There are few issues in our time that are of greater importance, and in need of more careful, neutral assessment, than those that are the object of the Miller Commission. It's a mission that can be greatly aided by a great research university, and Stanford Law School is delighted to participate and to help,” said Stanford Law School Dean Larry Kramer.
"Given the central importance of the constitutional and policy issues surrounding war powers to current national debates, the commission's work has the potential to be extremely important for policymakers, judges and scholars,” added Stanford Law School Associate Professor of Law Jenny S. Martinez, author of the forthcoming paper, “Inherent Executive Powers: A Comparative Perspective.”
In addition to Stanford Law School, the Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies (FSI) at Stanford University, the James A. Baker III Institute of Public Policy at Rice University, the University of Virginia School of Law, and the William & Mary School of Law are serving as partner institutions.
The commission’s members are: Slade Gorton, former U.S. Senator from Washington; Lee H. Hamilton, former Member of Congress from Indiana; Carla A. Hills, former U.S. Trade Representative; John O. Marsh, Jr., former Secretary of the Army; Edwin Meese, III, former U.S. Attorney General; Abner J. Mikva, former Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit; J. Paul Reason, former Commander in Chief of the U.S. Atlantic Fleet; Brent Scowcroft, former National Security Advisor; Anne-Marie Slaughter, Dean of the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton University; and Strobe Talbott, President of the Brookings Institution. The commission’s home page is located at millercenter.virginia.edu/index.php/policy/commissions/warpowers.
About Stanford Law School
Stanford Law School is one of the nation’s leading institutions for legal scholarship and education. Its alumni are among the most influential decision makers in law, politics, business, and high technology. Faculty members argue before the Supreme Court, testify before Congress, and write books and articles for academic audiences, as well as the popular press. Along with offering traditional law school classes, the school has embraced new subjects and new ways of teaching. The school’s home page is located at www.law.stanford.edu.
—30—EDITORIAL CONTACT
Amy Poftak Assistant Director of Communications Stanford Law School 650.725.7516 poftak@law.stanford.edu www.law.stanford.edu/news