Associate Professor Markus Wagner of University of Warwick School of Law provides expert comment on the news that the US justice department has declared the Trump travel ban to be 'lawful'.

"Under the US Constitution, the balance of power between the three branches of government is finely balanced. The President possesses a considerable amount of power through what are called Executive Orders (regulations that do not require legislative assent by the US Congress), but almost inherently these are regularly legally and politically challenged.

"All three branches are of course bound by the Constitution and the challenges against the Executive Order concerning immigration went both before Judge Robart (a Bush appointee) and an now before the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. The initial court order denied the order's validity for the time being The brief submitted to the appeals court provides more rationales than the initial submission to the federal court and it will remain to be seen whether the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals will find these arguments convincing. Should the court decide in line with Judge Robart the case may well go all the way to the Supreme Court.

"What is worrying is the process that President Trump's administration has used in the process of establishing the EO's and for challenging (in the public sphere so far) not only the validity of Judge Robart's judgment, but also the position of the judiciary as a whole. This is evident in one of his tweets that appears to equate the government only with the executive, but not taking into account the balanced nature that the separation of powers requirement imposes."

Associate Professor Markus Wagner is available for interview on ISDN line or Globelynx camera.

Contact:

Alex Buxton
Media Relations Manager
Tel: 02476 150423
Mob: 07876 218166
a.buxton.1@warwick.ac.uk