By
Sebastien Malo
1 min read
By
Sebastien Malo
On Monday, the United States Supreme Court struck down as unconstitutional legislation that said Americans born in Jerusalem could list Israel as their place of birth.
The six-to-three ruling by the country's highest court ends a legal battle whose outcome could have thrust American diplomacy into the charged debate over Jerusalem's status.
While Israel claims the disputed city as its capital, the US has, as a matter of foreign policy, never acknowledged that any country has sovereignty over it.
The 2002 law struck down by the court was opposed by both George W Bush and Barack Obama.
In making his decision, Justice Anthony Kennedy said: "The power to recognise or decline to recognise a foreign state and its territorial bounds resides with the president alone."
The court was ruling over a case brought by Jewish parents seeking a passport alteration for their child, Menachem B Zivotofsky.
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