preview

International Emergency Powers Act ( Iepa )

Decent Essays

On November 4, 1979, Iranian revolutionaries stormed the U.S. Embassy in Tehran and took several Americans hostage . President Carter subsequently issued executive order 12170, under the provision of the International Emergency Powers Act (IEPA), which froze all Iranian governmental assets within the jurisdiction of the United States . 444 days later Iran agreed to release the hostages in exchange for the return of their seized funds and the dismissal of “all legal proceedings of US nationals against Iran and… judgments via those pending proceedings”; this agreement is the basis for the Algiers Accords . Executive orders serve as immediate control measures for crises but often warrant criticism and further examination.
Before the hostage crisis, Dames & Moore Cooperation filed lawsuits against numerous Iranian governmental agencies. Dames was already furious about slow progress of their case in early 1980, but Carter’s executive order effectively forced the cooperation to relegate the case with the newly formed Claims Tribunal. Dames doubted the constitutionality of the executive actions arguing that they exceeded constitutional limitations, so he challenged the executive order directly . Because of the severity of the events surrounding the executive order, the case was sent directly to the Supreme Court. Ultimately, the Court upheld executive order 12170; the issues of fund transfer and suspension of legal claims both proved legal under the IEPA and congressional

Get Access