Congressionally Mandated Notice Period for Withdrawing from the Open Skies Treaty

(Slip Opinion) Congressionally Mandated Notice Period for Withdrawing from the Open Skies Treaty In establishing a mandatory waiting period for withdrawing from a treaty, section 1234(a) of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 unconstitutionally interferes with the President’s exclusive authority to execute treaties and to conduct diplomacy. September 22, 2020 MEMORANDUM OPINION FOR THE LEGAL ADVISOR TO THE NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL The United States is a party to the Open Skies Treaty, which allows state parties to conduct unarmed surveillance flights over the…