CHAPTER 466
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION
MEMORIALIZING THE CONGRESS OF THE UNITED STATES TO ENACT SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 1, WHICH WOULD AMEND THE CONSTITUTION OF THE UNITED STATES RELATIVE TO THE MAKING OF TREATIES AND EXECUTIVE AGREEMENTS.
WHEREAS, the Constitution of the United States provides that treaties may be made between the United States and foreign nations by the President of the United States by and with the consent of the United States Senate; and
WHEREAS, treaties when made become the supreme law of the land, and are paramount with respect to the ordinary laws enacted by the Congress and approved by the President for these, in order to be valid, must conform to the Constitution whereas treaty law is not restricted by the Constitution and can thus abrogate the rights of the people as guaranteed by the Constitution and the Bill of Rights; and
WHEREAS, the traditional procedures and sanctions of diplomacy seem to have lost much of their former influence and power; and
WHEREAS, treaties, and even executive agreements which seem to become morally binding upon this nation, are becoming increasingly important in view of the complexities of this modern world; and
WHEREAS, Senate Joint Resolution No. 1, introduced in the United States Senate of the 83rd Congress on January 7, 1953, by Senator John W. Bricker, Senator from Ohio, and sponsored jointly by sixty-four other senators, commonly known as the Bricker Resolution, would amend the Constitution of the United States by providing that any treaty which denies or abridges any right enumerated in the Constitution shall have no force or effect, and that no treaty shall authorize or permit any foreign power or any international organization to supervise, control or adjudicate rights of citizens of the United States enumerated in the Constitution, or any other matter essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of the United States, and that a treaty shall become internal law of this land only through the enactment of appropriate legislation by the Congress, and further, that all executive or other agreements between the President and any international organization, foreign power or official thereof, shall be made only in the manner prescribed by law and shall be subject to the limitations therein imposed on treaties or the making of treaties; and
WHEREAS, it is believed that the passage of this Resolution and its ratification by three-fourths of the several states, within the time allotted, would provide adequate and necessary protection to the constitutional rights of the citizens of this nation; NOW, THEREFORE,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the State of Delaware, the Senate concurring therein, that the 117th General Assembly of the State of Delaware, hereby respectfully urges and requests the Congress of the United States to pass Senate Joint Resolution No. 1 (the Bricker Resolution), calling for an amendment to the Constitution relating to treaties and executive agreements; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this Joint Resolution be sent to the President of the United States, the Vice-President of the United States, the President Pro-Tem of the Senate of the Congress of the United States, Senator John W. Bricker, United States Senator from Ohio, to each member of the Delaware Congressional delegation, and to the respective houses of the legislatures of the several states of the United States.
Approved June 26, 1953.