The Waterfront Commission Compact established a bi-state agency known as the Waterfront Commission of New York Harbor New York and New Jersey in 1953, consistent with the Compact Clause of the Constitution, pursuant to which the States delegated their sovereign authority to conduct regulatory and law-enforcement activities at the Port.
The Compact did not address each State’s power to withdraw from the Compact.
In 2018, New Jersey sought to unilaterally withdraw from the Compact, over New York’s opposition. New York filed a bill of complaint in the Supreme Court of the United States.
The parties then filed cross-motions for judgment on the pleadings, with the United States supporting New Jersey as amicus curiae.
Held: The Supreme Court ruled New Jersey may unilaterally withdraw from the Waterfront Commission Compact notwithstanding New York’s opposition.
Click HERE to access the Supreme Court's
decision and the Syllabus of the ruling.
N.B. The Syllabus is not part of the opinion of the Court. It is prepared by the Reporter of Decisions for the convenience of the reader.