A
plenary power or
plenary authority is the complete power of a governing body. The concept is also used in legal circles to define complete control in other circumstances, as in plenary authority over public funds, as opposed to limited authority over funds that are encumbered as collateral or by a legal claim. It is derived from the Latin term
plenus ("full").
In
United States constitutional lawUnited States Constitutional law is the body of law governing the interpretation and implementation of the United States Constitution.- Introduction :United States constitutional law defines the scope and application of the terms of the Constitution...
, plenary power is a power that has been granted to a body in absolute terms, with no review of, or limitations upon, the exercise of the power.
A
plenary power or
plenary authority is the complete power of a governing body. The concept is also used in legal circles to define complete control in other circumstances, as in plenary authority over public funds, as opposed to limited authority over funds that are encumbered as collateral or by a legal claim. It is derived from the Latin term
plenus ("full").
Plenary power in US law
In
United States constitutional lawUnited States Constitutional law is the body of law governing the interpretation and implementation of the United States Constitution.- Introduction :United States constitutional law defines the scope and application of the terms of the Constitution...
, plenary power is a power that has been granted to a body in absolute terms, with no review of, or limitations upon, the exercise of the power. The assignment of a plenary power to one body divests all other bodies from the right to exercise that power.
A clear example of this is with the power of the
United States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States of America, consisting of two houses, the Senate and the House of Representatives. Both senators and representatives are chosen through direct election....
under Article I, Section 8, Clause 3, (the
Commerce ClauseThe Commerce Clause is an enumerated power listed in the United States Constitution . The clause states that the United States Congress has the power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, among the states, and with the Native American tribes...
). Because Congress is granted absolute power over interstate commerce, the
Supreme CourtThe Supreme Court of the United States is the highest judicial body in the United States, and leads the federal judiciary. It consists of the Chief Justice of the United States and eight Associate Justices, who are nominated by the President and confirmed with the "advice and consent" of the Senate...
has found that states may
not pass laws that affect interstate commerce unless the U.S. Congress gives them permission to do so.
An example of a plenary power granted to an individual is the power to grant pardons, which is bestowed upon the President of the United States under Article II, Section 2, of the US Constitution. The President is granted the power to: “…grant Reprieves and Pardons for Offences against the United States, except in Cases of Impeachment.”
That is, within the defined zone, (e.g., all offences against the United States, except Impeachment) the President may modify the punishment, up to the eradication of the fact of conviction and punishment, for offenses against the United States, entirely. And once done, the President’s exercise of this power may not be reviewed by any body or through any forum.
Neither the power to grant pardon nor the power to construct the scope of a pardon (a commutation) is within the reach of any subsequent review or alteration. Furthermore, double jeopardy prohibits any subsequent prosecution for the offenses over which the pardon was granted. Even the President himself may not rescind a pardon that either he or a predecessor President has granted, once such pardon is executed (i.e., once the official instrument is signed by the President and sealed on behalf of the United States). This fact makes this power the most purely plenary.
The plenary power of the U.S. Congress, or of other
sovereignSovereignty is the quality of having supreme, independent authority over a territory. It can be found in a power to rule and make law that rests on a political fact for which no purely legal explanation can be provided...
nations, allows them to pass laws, levy taxes, wage wars, and hold in custody those who offend against their laws. While other legal doctrines, such as the powers of states and rights of individuals, are held to limit the plenary power of Congress, then-
Associate JusticeAssociate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States are the members of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the Chief Justice of the United States...
William RehnquistWilliam Hubbs Rehnquist was an American lawyer, jurist, and a political figure who served as an Associate Justice on the Supreme Court of the United States and later as the Chief Justice of the United States. Considered a conservative, Rehnquist favored a federalism under which the states...
said the idea of limited federal powers is "one of the greatest 'fictions' of our federalist system" (
Hodel v. Virginia Surface Mining & Reclamation Association, 1981). A striking example can be seen in
United States v. KagamaUnited States v. Kagama, 118 U.S. 375, 6 S.Ct. 1109, 30 L.Ed. 228 , was a United States Supreme Court ruling that upheld the Constitutionality of the Major Crimes Act of 1885. This Congressional Act gave the federal courts jurisdiction in certain cases of crimes between Native Americans, even if...
, where the Supreme Court found that Congress had complete authority over all Native American affairs.