Reading Room Document

Litigation Responsibility of the Attorney General in Cases in the International Court of Justice

Under 28 U.S.C. §§ 516 and 519, the conduct and supervision of litigation in which the United States is a party is reserved to the Attorney General, except as otherwise authorized by law; under 5 U.S.C § 3106, other agencies shall not conduct litigation, but shall refer the matter to the Department of Justice. The Attorney General's authority and responsibility to conduct litigation extends to litigation in foreign and international tribunals, including litigation affecting foreign relations of the United States, and contentious litigated proceedings before the International Court of Justice are thus within his supervisory power. 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/22371/download.

April 21, 1980