357 U.S. 349 (1958)
Congress enacted the War Claims Act of 1948, which created the War Claims Commission consisting of three members appointed by the President with the advice and consent of the Senate.1 The Commission was tasked with receiving and adjudicating claims for compensation of internees, prisoners of war, and religious organizations who suffered losses during World War II.2 The Act specified that the Commission would conclude its operations no later than three years after the expiration of the claims filing period, which was initially set at two years but later extended, and made no provision for the removal of commissioners.3
Myron Wiener was nominated by President Truman for a position on the Commission, confirmed by the Senate on June 2, 1950, and assumed office on June 8, 1950.4 On December 10, 1953, President Eisenhower removed Wiener from the Commission, citing the national interest in completing the administration of the War Claims Act with personnel of his own selection.5 The President then made recess appointments to fill the positions, including Wiener's, and subsequently nominated new members to the Senate on February 15, 1954.6
The War Claims Commission was abolished on July 1, 1954, by Reorganization Plan No. 1 of 1954.7 Wiener thereafter instituted an action in the Court of Claims to recover the salary he would have earned from the date of his removal until the Commission's termination on June 30, 1954.8 The Court of Claims dismissed the petition, leading to the grant of certiorari by the Supreme Court.9
Whether the President had authority to remove without cause a member of the War Claims Commission whose term was defined solely by the Commission's limited statutory duration?10
When Congress creates a commission to perform quasi-judicial functions and defines its tenure by a limited statutory duration without providing for removal, the President lacks authority to remove a commissioner without cause.11
No. The War Claims Commission was charged with adjudicating claims according to law with finality of determination.12 This placed it among those bodies whose members must exercise judgment free from executive interference as recognized in Humphrey's Executor v. United States.13 Congress's silence on removal, combined with the adjudicatory nature of the duties, precludes any inference that the President could remove members at will merely to install personnel of his own selection, as occurred when President Eisenhower removed Wiener on December 10, 1953.14
The President lacked authority to remove Wiener without cause.15