Executive Order 9852 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 9852—Appointment of a Member of a Military Tribunal Established for the Trial and Punishment of Major War Criminals in Germany

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Thursday, May 15, 1947

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2 min read (426 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

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

This executive order, signed by President Harry S Truman on 1947-05-15, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Appointment of a Member of a Military Tribunal Established for the Trial and Punishment of Major War Criminals in Germany." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the statutes, and as President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, it is ordered as follows: 1.

▪ Wennerstrum, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of Iowa, as a member of one of the several military tribunals established by the Military Governor for the United States Zone of Occupation within Germany pursuant to the quadripartite agreement of the Control Council for Germany, enacted December 20, 1945, as Control Council Law No.

▪ Such member may, at the direction of the Military Governor of the United States Zone of Occupation, serve on any of the several military tribunals above mentioned, which tribunals are a component part of the military occupational forces of the United States, and upon which the member designated herein shall perform active service during the period of his designation.

▪ The member herein designated shall receive such compensation and allowances for expenses as may be determined by the Secretary of War and as may be payable from appropriations or funds available to the War Department for such purposes.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Merchants, Importers & Commercial Enterprises 🏛️ Sovereign State Governments & Localities 🏛️ Executive Departments & Federal Civil Servants

Total Words

426

2,598 characters

Estimated Read Time

2 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

23.8

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

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Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 9852, Harry S Truman (May 15, 1947). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-9852-appointment-member-military-tribunal-established-for-the-trial-and.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

By virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the statutes, and as President of the United States and Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy of the United States, it is ordered as follows: 1. I hereby designate Charles F. Wennerstrum, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of the State of Iowa, as a member of one of the several military tribunals established by the Military Governor for the United States Zone of Occupation within Germany pursuant to the quadripartite agreement of the Control Council for Germany, enacted December 20, 1945, as Control Council Law No. 10, and pursuant to Articles 10 and 11 of the Charter of the International Military Tribunal, which tribunal was established by the Government of the United States of America, the Provisional Government of the French Republic, the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, and the Government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics, for the trial and punishment of major war criminals of the European Axis. Such member may, at the direction of the Military Governor of the United States Zone of Occupation, serve on any of the several military tribunals above mentioned, which tribunals are a component part of the military occupational forces of the United States, and upon which the member designated herein shall perform active service during the period of his designation. 2. The member herein designated shall receive such compensation and allowances for expenses as may be determined by the Secretary of War and as may be payable from appropriations or funds available to the War Department for such purposes. 3. The Secretary of State, the Secretary of War, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of the Navy are authorized to provide appropriate assistance to the member herein designated in the performance of his duties and may assign or detail such personnel under their respective jurisdictions, including members of the armed forces, as may be requested for the purpose. Personnel so assigned or detailed shall receive such compensation and allowances for expenses as may be determined by the Secretary of war and as may be payable from appropriations or funds available to the War Department for such purposes, except that personnel assigned or detailed from the Navy Department shall receive such compensation and allowances for expenses to which they may be entitled by reason of their military grade and service and as may be payable from appropriations or funds available to the navy Department for such purposes. HARRY S. TRUMAN THE WHITE HOUSE, May 15, 1947