[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.J. Res. 63 Introduced in House (IH)]







106th CONGRESS
  1st Session
H. J. RES. 63

    Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States 
      relating to the legal effect of certain treaties and other 
                       international agreements.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             July 22, 1999

  Mr. Chenoweth introduced the following joint resolution; which was 
               referred to the Committee on the Judiciary

_______________________________________________________________________

                            JOINT RESOLUTION


 
    Proposing an amendment to the Constitution of the United States 
      relating to the legal effect of certain treaties and other 
                       international agreements.

    Resolved by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United 
States of America in Congress assembled, (two-thirds of each House 
concurring therein), That the following article is proposed as an 
amendment to the Constitution of the United States, which shall be 
valid to all intents and purposes as part of the Constitution when 
ratified by the legislatures of three-fourths of the several States 
within seven years after the date of its submission for ratification:

                              ``Article--

    ``Section 1. A provision of a treaty which denies or abridges any 
right enumerated in this Constitution shall not be of any force or 
effect.
    ``Section 2. A provision of a treaty which denies or abridges 
legislative authority of the several States shall not be of any force 
or effect unless ratified by three-fourths of the State legislatures 
within five years of the date of the ratification of the treaty by the 
Senate.
    ``Section 3. 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 this Constitution 
or any other matter essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of the 

United States or the several States. No decision of any international 
body purporting to interpret treaties to which the United States is a 
party shall be given any precedential effect by the courts of the 
United States or the several States in any proceeding concerning any 
matter essentially within the domestic jurisdiction of the United 
States or the several States.
    ``Section 4. A treaty shall become effective as internal law in the 
United States only through the enactment of appropriate legislation by 
the Congress. This section shall not be construed to grant Congress any 
authority to enact legislation that is not otherwise authorized by a 
specific grant of legislative authority in this Constitution.
    ``Section 5. All agreements between the United States and other 
nations which have any binding effect of law upon this Nation or its 
citizens are treaties and shall be subject to the procedures and 
limitations for treaties set forth in this article and other provisions 
of this Constitution.
    ``Section 6. Not later than 21 days after a treaty is signed on 
behalf of the United States, the President shall transmit the text of 
that treaty to the Senate for ratification.''.
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