The Signing Statement Issued by the President in the U.S. Legal System

A “signing statement” is a written pronouncement issued by the President of the United States upon the signing of a bill into law. The signing statement has a particular importance in the US constitutional order because the Supreme Court and Federal Courts have useditasa source to issue judicial verdicts. Signing statements are grouped into three categories: Rhetorical, Interpretive and Constitutional statements. The signing statement can be used as a subsidiary and helpful tool for other powers and relative bodies for a valid understanding of ordinary law and protect the Constitution. There are debates about whether a signing statement is lawful and in compliance with the Constitution; however, the Presidents have used it as rhetorical, interpretive and constitutional tools, due to the lack of clear reference in the Constitution about the impossibility of applying it.