In a 6-3 decision, the United States Supreme Court determined the Jerusalem Passport Law was unconstitutional in a ruling that the Associated Press wrote “underscores the president’s authority in foreign affairs.”

The court ruled 6-3 that Congress overstepped its bounds when it approved the law in 2002. It would have forced the State Department to alter its longstanding policy of not listing Israel as the birthplace for Jerusalem-born Americans. …

Justice Anthony Kennedy said in his majority opinion that the president has the exclusive power to recognize foreign nations, and that the power to determine what a passport says is part of this power. …

The justices had Zivotofsky’s case before them once before. In 2012, the court rejected lower court decisions that called the matter a political issue that should be resolved by Congress and the president without the help of the courts.

The Supreme Court decision is the final outcome of the suit that was filed by Menachem Zivotofsky, who was born in Jerusalem to US citizens Ari and Naomi Zivotofsky in 2002. Zivotofsky sought to have his American passport state that he was born in “Jerusalem, Israel,” rather than simply, “Jerusalem,” as is mandated by current State Department policy.

[Photo: Pete Jordan / Flickr]