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The US Supreme Court has sharply clipped the wings of federal agencies, overturning a legal doctrine that for 40 years has given them significant latitude to set standards in areas ranging from environmental protection to securities regulation.
The legal doctrine at the centre of the 6-3 decision on Friday is known as the “Chevron deference”, stemming from a 1984 Supreme Court decision involving the oil major. Under the doctrine, courts generally defer to agencies’ interpretation of ambiguous rules and laws written by Congress.
Courts “may not defer to an agency interpretation of the law simply because a statute is ambiguous”, Chief Justice John Roberts wrote in the majority opinion.
Legal experts have argued that overturning the Chevron doctrine could trigger a wave of litigation, emboldening parties to challenge agencies’ standards. But it may also push regulators to preemptively craft less sweeping rules in the hope they will evade legal challenge.
This is a developing story