Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.
This executive order, signed by President Richard Nixon on 1973-01-19, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Relating to the Implementation of the Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters." It is a direct, concise executive instruction delivering focused administrative or military commands to department leadership.
Constitutional Assessment: Reviewed under the Tenth Amendment and the principle of dual federalism, this order touches upon domains traditionally reserved to the sovereign States. The Framers would caution against any attempt to commandeer state officers or displace local police powers through federal executive fiat.
Key Directives & Operative Actions
▪Now, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States of America, it is ordered as follows: The Department of Justice is designated as the Central Authority to receive Letters of Request coming from a judicial authority of another Contracting State and to transmit them to the authority competent to execute them.
Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted
🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities
🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants
Total Words
125
754 characters
Estimated Read Time
1 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
14.8
Post-Grad reading level
Constitutional Polarity
+0.02
Framers' Alignment index
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Scholarly & Legal Citations
Exec. Order No. 11698, Richard Nixon (Jan 19, 1973). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-11698-relating-the-implementation-the-convention-the-taking-evidence.
Official Document Text
Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)
The Convention on the Taking of Evidence Abroad in Civil or Commercial Matters was ratified by the United States of America and was proclaimed by the President on September 15,1972. It came into force on October 7, 1972. By Article 2 of the Convention each of the Contracting States undertakes to designate a Central Authority to implement the Convention. Now, THEREFORE, by virtue of the authority vested in me as President of the United States of America, it is ordered as follows: The Department of Justice is designated as the Central Authority to receive Letters of Request coming from a judicial authority of another Contracting State and to transmit them to the authority competent to execute them. RICHARD NIXON The White House, January 19, 1973.
