The justices, in a 5-4 vote Monday, say that the Sarbanes-Oxley law enacted in 2002 violates the Constitution's separation of powers mandate. The court says the president must be able to remove members of a board that was created to tighten oversight of internal corporate controls and outside auditors.

Congress created the board to replace the accounting industry's own regulators amid scandals at Enron Corp., WorldCom Inc., Tyco International Ltd. and other corporations. The board has power to compel documents and testimony from accounting firms, and the authority to discipline accountants.

Chief Justice John Roberts, writing for the court, said that Sarbanes-Oxley law will remain in effect, with one change. The Public Company Accounting Oversight Board will continue as before, but the Securities and Exchange Commission now will be able to remove board members at will.

That change, Roberts said, cures the constitutional problem.