JULY 27 — The United Nations headquarters is in New York City.

New York City is in New York.

New York is a state in the United States of America (USA).

The USA is a federation.

A federation, from which federalism gets its name, is when authority is divided between a central government and local governments. In a federation, there is the sharing or mixing of power between a federal government and the state governments.

Read here on what a federation is.

As a system of government, federalism in the USA is based on the US Constitution. Power is shared between the 50 state governments and the federal government in Washington, DC.

The federal government has certain powers that are given to it by the Constitution and the 50 state governments have powers that are reserved to them.  There are also powers that are shared by both the federal and state governments.

The powers are identified as “Delegated Powers,” “Reserved Powers,” “Concurrent Powers” and “Implied Powers”. Each explains where authority derives.

Delegated Powers are those powers specifically assigned to the federal government by the Constitution, which lists very specific powers that the federal government enjoys. 

The federal government can declare war, maintain armed forces, regulate interstate commerce, admit new states, establish post offices, coin money, establish foreign policy, and make all laws for the necessary and proper carryout out of its delegated powers.

Reserved Powers are powers not specifically delegated to the federal government by the Constitution, but which are “reserved’ for the state governments.  

Powers reserved to the states include the power to establish schools, establish local governments, regulate businesses within the state, make marriage laws, and provide for public safety. 

States can assume all powers not delegated to the federal government or prohibited to the states. 

States also have “police powers”, which have nothing to do with law-enforcement or a specific police department.  The term means the states can regulate for the health, safety and welfare of its citizens.

Concurrent Powers are powers that the federal government and the state governments have in common or share simultaneously. 

These are the matters that both the federal and the state governments can do – that is, maintain law and order, tax, borrow money, charter banks, establish courts, and provide for the public welfare.

The above is not unlike the Federal List, State List and Concurrent List in our Federal Constitution.

Implied Powers are powers that are not specifically delegated in the Constitution but are understood to be necessary and allowed. 

The “Necessary and Proper clause” also known as the “Elastic Clause,” from Article I, Section 8 of the Constitution gives Congress the power to make all laws it deems necessary to make the government work well. 

This clause constitutionally authorises the vast majority of laws created by the Congress.

The above should inform us why New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said last week that he had determined he lacked the legal authority (read: power) to have Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu arrested for alleged war crimes should he visit the city, after earlier saying he was considering the move.

The International Criminal Court (ICC), based in The Hague, issued an arrest warrant for Netanyahu in 2024 for alleged war crimes during the Gaza war.

In a New York Times interview, Mamdani called Netanyahu a “war criminal” and said the city’s legal department was actively considering whether the law would allow his arrest should Netanyahu visit New York for the United Nations General Assembly in September.

Mamdani, a Democrat, had made similar remarks while campaigning for mayor ahead of the November 4, 2025, election. But in a video posted to social media on July 21, Mamdani said he had concluded he had no such authority.

“It is clear that we do not have the independent legal authority to enforce this warrant,” Mamdani said.

Experts in international law say there are multiple reasons that Mamdani cannot order Netanyahu’s arrest.

One of them is the US has not ratified the Rome Statute, which obliges countries to arrest people who have ICC warrants against them. 

The conduct of foreign diplomacy and foreign affairs are part of Delegated Powers assigned to the federal government.

What powers New York has are Reserved Powers, which include “police powers” that have nothing to do with law-enforcement or a specific police department, including the arrest of Netanyahu.

So, in a federation, there are matters that are not within the powers of a state within the federation.

That’s typical of a federation.

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.