Reading Room Document

Validity of Congressional-Executive Agreements That Substantially Modify the United States' Obligations Under an Existing Treaty

It lies within Congress's power to authorize the President to modify substantially the United States' domestic and international legal obligations under a prior treaty, including an arms control treaty, by making an executive agreement with our treaty partners, without Senate advice and consent. 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/19891/download.

November 25, 1996