Reading Room Document

Determinations Regarding Cessation of Hostilities, Termination of the War and of the Emergency

This opinion explained that the end of hostilities during World War II did not end the war, and instead identified it as the first of three phases to the restoration of peace. Because different wartime statutes used different phases to trigger changes in statutory obligations, the OLC advised that distinct proclamations or joint resolutions noting the end of hostilities, officially declaring an end to the war, and terminating the state of emergency should be issued.

December 21, 1945