| Zivotofsky v. Kerry | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Argued November 3, 2014 Decided June 8, 2015 | |
| Full case name | Menachem Binyamin Zivotofsky, By His Parents and Guardians, Ari Z. and Naomi Siegman Zivotofsky, Petitioner v. John Kerry, Secretary of State |
| Docket no. | 13-628 |
| Citations | 576 U.S. 1 (more) 135 S. Ct. 2076; 192 L. Ed. 2d 83 |
| Argument | Oral argument |
| Case history | |
| Prior | See Zivotofsky v. Clinton for details. |
| Holding | |
| The President has the exclusive power to grant formal recognition to a foreign sovereign. Because the power to recognize foreign states resides in the President alone, § 214(d) of the Foreign Relations Authorization Act infringes on the Executive’s decision to withhold recognition with respect to Jerusalem. D.C. Circuit affirmed. | |
| Court membership | |
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| Case opinions | |
| Majority | Kennedy, joined by Ginsburg, Breyer, Sotomayor, Kagan |
| Concurrence | Breyer |
| Concur/dissent | Thomas |
| Dissent | Roberts, joined by Alito |
| Dissent | Scalia, joined by Roberts, Alito |
Zivotofsky v. Kerry, 576 U.S. 1 (2015), is a United States Supreme Court decision that held that the president, as head of the executive branch, has exclusive power to recognize (or not recognize) foreign nations; as such, Congress may not require the State Department to indicate in passports that Jerusalem is part of Israel.