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Executive Order 7447 🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority Constitutional Neutral (+0.02) 📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation

Executive Order 7447—Duties and Functions of the United States High Commissioner to the Commonwealth of the Philippine Islands in Connection with Proceedings Involving the Extradition of Fugitives From Justice to and From the Commonwealth of the Philippine Islands

Franklin D. Roosevelt Franklin D. Roosevelt
•
Friday, September 11, 1936
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2 min read (384 words)

Executive Brief • At a Glance

⏱️ 2 min read (384 words) • ● In Effect
🎯 Primary Mandate

Delegate to the United States High Commissioner to the Commonwealth of the Philippine Islands the performance of the duties and functions hereinafter described in connection with proceedings involving the extradition of fugitives from justice to and from the Commonwealth of the Philippine Islands. 1.

View all 3 directives ↓
⚖️ Constitutional Footing
🏛️✅ Zone 1: Maximum Authority
Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
📜 10th Amend: Intergovernmental Federalism Cooperation
Framers' constitutional debate ↓
🏛️ Scope & Affected Sectors
Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises Sovereign State Governments & Localities Foreign Nations & International Entities
Inspect unabridged text ↓

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

Signed by President Franklin D. Roosevelt on September 11, 1936, this order concerns Duties and Functions of the United States High Commissioner to the Commonwealth of the Philippine Islands in Connection with Proceedings Involving the Extradition of Fugitives From Justice to and From the Commonwealth of the Philippine Islands. Delegate to the United States High Commissioner to the Commonwealth of the Philippine Islands the performance of the duties and functions hereinafter described in connection with proceedings involving the extradition of fugitives from justice to and from the Commonwealth of the Philippine Islands. 1.

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

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Delegate to the United States High Commissioner to the Commonwealth of the Philippine Islands the performance of the duties and functions hereinafter described in connection with proceedings involving the extradition of fugitives from justice to and from the Commonwealth of the Philippine Islands. 1.

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The United States High Commissioner shall receive all requests of the Chief Executive of the Commonwealth of the Philippine Islands for the extradition of fugitives from the justice of said Commonwealth found in countries foreign to the United States of America and he shall transmit such requests to the Secretary of State of the United States except that where the fugitive or fugitives sought shall have been found in Japan or within the consular jurisdiction of the American consular officer at Hong Kong, at Singapore, at Bombay, at Calcutta, at Hobart (Tasmania), at Colombo, at Auckland, at Melbourne, or at Sydney (Australia) the United States High Commissioner may, in his discretion, transmit such request directly to the American…

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The United States High Commissioner is further authorized to receive all requests from foreign governments for the extradition from the Commonwealth of the Philippine Islands of fugitives from the justice of such foreign governments, either directly or from the Secretary of State of the United States, and to transmit such requests to the Chief Executive of the Commonwealth of the Philippine Islands.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities

Policy Areas & Topics

🏷️ Foreign Policy & Diplomacy
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The Framers' Constitutional Council

1787 Prism

Evaluating this order against the constitutional debates of 1787 and the limits of Article II executive power.

🏛️✅ Zone 1 (Maximum Authority)
§

"When the President acts pursuant to an express or implied authorization of Congress, his authority is at its maximum, for it includes all that he possesses in his own right plus all that Congress can delegate."

— Justice Robert H. Jackson, Youngstown Sheet & Tube Co. v. Sawyer (1952) Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
JM

James Madison

Separation of Powers & Legislative Primacy

"The constitutional magistracy was designed not to invent policy, but to be the faithful instrument of the laws passed by the people's representatives." — Speech in the First Congress (1789)

Madison would approve the structural posture of this order. The President acts strictly in subordination to statutory authority granted under Article II, Section 3 ("take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed"). The checks and balances hold firm because the policy origin remains with the legislature.

Madisonian Stance: Concurring (Statutory)
AH

Alexander Hamilton

The Energetic Executive & Unified Command

"A feeble Executive implies a feeble execution of the government; and a government ill executed, whatever it may be in theory, must be, in practice, a bad government." — Federalist No. 70 (1788)

Hamilton would view this directive as the natural and indispensable functioning of administrative leadership. Without the power to coordinate agencies, manage personnel, and resolve operational ambiguities, the modern presidency would be reduced to an impotent figurehead.

Hamiltonian Stance: Supportive of Execution
GM

George Mason

Bill of Rights, Due Process & 10th Amendment

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." — 10th Amendment to the US Constitution (1791)

Mason would scrutinize whether this federal directive intrudes into police powers, land stewardship, or municipal domains historically reserved to local citizens. The Anti-Federalist demand is that federal administration must never supplant state self-governance.

Anti-Federalist Stance: Eternal Vigilance Required
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Five Measurable "Constitutional Friction" Dimensions

An objective audit measuring potential separation-of-powers tension against the United States Constitution and established Supreme Court doctrine.

🛡️ High Constitutional Concordance
23 / 100 friction index
Dimension 1 • Art. I, §1 & §8

Legislative Encroachment & Purse

Low Friction

Operates within delegated statutory execution without modifying legislative appropriations or taxing powers.

Benchmark: Power of the purse, taxes/tariffs, and rule of law reserved to Congress.
Dimension 2 • Art. II, §1 & §3

Executive Scope & Faithfulness

Low Friction

Exercises standard supervisory executive authority to faithfully execute existing statutes.

Benchmark: Faithfully execute laws enacted by Congress vs. unilateral decree.
Dimension 3 • 10th Amendment

Federalism & State Sovereignty

Moderate Friction

Engages state and local partners in cooperative federalism programs.

Benchmark: Police powers and un-delegated responsibilities reserved to the States.
Dimension 4 • 5th & 14th Amendments

Due Process & Individual Rights

Low Friction

Focuses on internal governmental operations with no direct impairment of private rights or property.

Benchmark: Protection of private property, contracts, liberty, and procedural justice.
Dimension 5 • Separation of Powers

Youngstown Jacksonian Tier

Low Friction

The President operates strictly as the constitutional Chief Executive, carrying out policy established by Congress with strong statutory backing.

Benchmark: Express or Implied Congressional Authorization
⚖️ Audit Synthesis

This order operates in close harmony with statutory authority and standard Article II supervisory execution.

Weighted composite: Art. I (25%), Art. II (25%), Federalism (15%), Due Process (15%), Youngstown (20%).
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How to read these dimensions: Executive power expands whenever an administration acts without explicit statutory authorization from Congress (Article I), touches upon police powers historically reserved to the states (Tenth Amendment), or limits private rights and property without judicial process. A low friction score indicates strict concordance with enacted law; a high friction score highlights orders testing the limits of presidential discretion.
Total Words
384
2,396 characters
Estimated Read Time
2 min
@ 200 words / min
Flesch-Kincaid
29.4
Post-Graduate Legal
Language Tone Score
+0.02
Constitutional Neutral
How is this scored?
Text size:

Official Archival Text

View Source Document

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the provisions of Section 7(4) of the Act of Congress approved March 24, 1934 (48 Stat. 456, 461, United States Code, Title 48, Section 1237), entitled 'An Act To provide for the complete independence of the Philippine Islands, to provide for the adoption of a constitution and a form of government for the Philippine Islands, and for other purposes', and in view of the provisions of Section 2(a)(10) of the same Act, I do hereby delegate to the United States High Commissioner to the Commonwealth of the Philippine Islands the performance of the duties and functions hereinafter described in connection with proceedings involving the extradition of fugitives from justice to and from the Commonwealth of the Philippine Islands. 1. The United States High Commissioner shall receive all requests of the Chief Executive of the Commonwealth of the Philippine Islands for the extradition of fugitives from the justice of said Commonwealth found in countries foreign to the United States of America and he shall transmit such requests to the Secretary of State of the United States except that where the fugitive or fugitives sought shall have been found in Japan or within the consular jurisdiction of the American consular officer at Hong Kong, at Singapore, at Bombay, at Calcutta, at Hobart (Tasmania), at Colombo, at Auckland, at Melbourne, or at Sydney (Australia) the United States High Commissioner may, in his discretion, transmit such request directly to the American Ambassador at Tokyo, Japan, or to the appropriate American consular officer, as the case may be, and such Ambassador or consular officer is hereby authorized, upon the receipt of the request from the United States High Commissioner, to make requisition for the extradition of the fugitive or fugitives without awaiting instructions from the Secretary of State. 2. The United States High Commissioner is further authorized to receive all requests from foreign governments for the extradition from the Commonwealth of the Philippine Islands of fugitives from the justice of such foreign governments, either directly or from the Secretary of State of the United States, and to transmit such requests to the Chief Executive of the Commonwealth of the Philippine Islands. This order shall take effect from and after this date. FRANKLIN D ROOSEVELT

THE WHITE HOUSE, #signature

September 11, 1936.

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Scholarly & Legal Citations 

Exec. Order No. 7447 (Sept. 11, 1936), https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-7447-duties-and-functions-the-united-states-high-commissioner-the.