Nondelegation Doctrine
What does "Nondelegation Doctrine" mean in law?
A constitutional principle derived from Article I, Section 1 holding that Congress may not delegate its legislative power to administrative agencies without providing an 'intelligible principle' to guide the agency's exercise of delegated authority. The intelligible principle test, articulated in J.W. Hampton, Jr. & Co. v. United States (1928), requires that the statute lay down standards sufficient to constrain and direct agency discretion. The only two cases in which the Supreme Court struck down statutes on nondelegation grounds were A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States (1935) and Panama Refining Co. v. Ryan (1935), both involving sweeping New Deal delegations. Though the doctrine has been largely dormant since then, recent concurrences by Justices Gorsuch and others signal potential reinvigoration.
Definition
A constitutional principle derived from Article I, Section 1 holding that Congress may not delegate its legislative power to administrative agencies without providing an 'intelligible principle' to guide the agency's exercise of delegated authority. The intelligible principle test, articulated in J.W. Hampton, Jr. & Co. v. United States (1928), requires that the statute lay down standards sufficient to constrain and direct agency discretion. The only two cases in which the Supreme Court struck down statutes on nondelegation grounds were A.L.A. Schechter Poultry Corp. v. United States (1935) and Panama Refining Co. v. Ryan (1935), both involving sweeping New Deal delegations. Though the doctrine has been largely dormant since then, recent concurrences by Justices Gorsuch and others signal potential reinvigoration.
Example
In Schechter Poultry, the Supreme Court struck down the National Industrial Recovery Act's delegation to the President to approve 'codes of fair competition' because the statute provided virtually no standards constraining executive discretion.