Does the United States Constitution allow itself to be a member of the United Nations?

Question

Personally, I believe the UN is a money-munching, finger-pointing, ghastly organization that is not allowed by the US Constitution and further law; what do you believe and what does it allow?

Answer 1

Can you point to anything in the Constitution that you think might prevent the US government from participating in such an organization? I can point to several sections that seem to imply such international affiliations are legal.

Article I Section 8: Congress shall have the power to...
To regulate commerce with foreign nations...;
To define and punish ... offenses against the law of nations;

Article II Section 2: The president shall have power, by and with the advice and consent of the Senate, to make treaties...

Article VI: This Constitution, and the laws of the United States ... and all treaties made, or which shall be made under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land.

So, Congress and the President both have respective powers to make treaties and laws governing interaction with foreign nations. And participation in the UN is basically one big treaty.

So, whether I agree with your assessment of the UN or not, it looks like the plain text allows US participation, and certainly 200 years of Supreme Court history have allowed the US to participate in treaties and organizations like NATO and the former League of Nations.

{EDIT to dzeyoyo123} The website you cite contains numerous errors of both logic and law. In order...

The first 'error' is not a problem, because more than one court can have concurrent jurisdiction over an issue. So the fact that the International Court can interpret the treaty does nothing to remove jurisdiction from the US Supreme Court to determine how the treaty would apply in the US.

The second 'error' reflects a basic misunderstanding of the legislative process. Congress can make laws regulating income tax. The provisions of the executed treaty is an law enacted by Congress (since most provisions are not self-executing). So Congress simply changed the law. Also, whether phrased as a refund or a disbursement, Congress has the Article I Section 8 power to spend or give away tax money.

The fourth 'error' is just as spurious. Congress may declare war or make rules for the conduct of troops, including authorizing their deployment. So, when the UN asks for troops, Congress can send them. There's no conflict, because the UN declaration of war has no effect on the US status of being at war or not, so nothing is being taken from Congress.

The third 'error' is such a blatant misunderstanding of how that section of the Constitution applies that I'm not even going to get into it. Suffice it to say that the treaty and the constitution are talking about two entirely different situations.

Answer 2

The US Constitution clearly provides legal room for the federal government to sign and participate in international treaties. Furthermore, any treaties entered into by the federal government are, according to the Constitution, equal to it as law of the land.

Answer 3

The Constitution was written 160 years before the UN was founded. There is nothing in it that would exclude us from joining the UN. We can leave the UN anytime we want to, but in the chaotic world we live in it would not be in our best interest.

Answer 4

Constitution allows creation of treaties and placement of Embassies. US involvement in the UN is quite legal.

Answer 5

i forget the exact words but no, the constitution forbids any outside power from superseding it.

http://www.freedomdomain.com/un/un01.html

..and i guess being "quite legal" could be debated ...