Federal Communications Commission et al. v. ITT World Communications, Inc., et al. (466 U.S. 463)
U.S. Supreme Court · decided April 30, 1984 · Supreme Court Database (Spaeth)
- Citation
- 466 U.S. 463 · 104 S. Ct. 1936
- Decided
- April 30, 1984
- Term
- October Term 1983
- Vote
- 9–0
- Majority author
- Justice Powell
- Issue area
- Privacy
- Disposition
- Reversed and remanded
- Outcome
- Petitioning party won
- Ideological direction
- Conservative
Opinion excerpt
Justice Powell delivered the opinion of the Court. The Government in the Sunshine Act, 5 U. S. C. § 552b, mandates that federal agencies hold their meetings in public. This case requires us to consider whether the Act applies to informal international conferences attended by members of the Federal Communications Commission. We also must decide whether the District Court may exercise jurisdiction over a suit that challenges agency conduct as ultra vires after the agency has addressed that challenge in an order reviewable only by the Court of Appeals. I Members of petitioner Federal Communications Commission (FCC) participate with their European and Canadian counterparts in what is referred to as the Consultative Process. This is a series of conferences intended to facilitate joint planning of telecommunications facilities through an exchange of information on regulatory policies. At the time of the conferences at issue in the present case, only three American corporations — respondents ITT World Communications, Inc. (ITT), and RCA Global Communications, Inc., and Western Union International — provided overseas record telecommunications services. Although the FCC had approved entry into the market by other competitors, European regulators had been reluctant to do so. The FCC therefore added the topic of new carriers and services to the agenda of the Consultative Process, in the…
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