Executive Order 12173 Constitutional Neutral (+0.02)

Executive Order 12173—Panama Canal

•

Thursday, November 29, 1979

•

2 min read (326 words)

Plain-English Translation & Framers' Constitutional Analysis

Early Statesman synthesis distilling legal jargon into practical meaning, statutory anchors, and structural constitutional impacts.

This executive order, signed by President Jimmy Carter on 1979-11-29, establishes federal administrative policy concerning "Panama Canal." It outlines operative directives for executive department officers, delegating enforcement responsibilities and establishing official governance guidelines.

Constitutional Assessment: Scrutinized through Article II, Section 2, this action exercises the President's constitutional role as Commander in Chief. Early Framers recognized broad executive discretion in commanding military forces during conflict, provided it remains bounded by congressional declarations and respects civilian domestic courts.

Key Directives & Operative Actions

▪ 1), as amended, and by Public Law 96-70 (93 Stat.

▪ 6-50), repealed by Section 303(a) (1) of Public Law 96—70, or actions taken pursuant thereto, that were in effect on September 30, 1979, and that address matters which the President is authorized to regulate pursuant to Public Law 96-70, shall remain in effect unless or until amended, superseded, or otherwise terminated by the President or the Panama Canal Commission.

▪ This extension shall not apply to the extent that any such regulation or action is inconsistent with the provisions of the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977, its implementing agreements, or Public Law 96-70.

▪ The Secretary of Defense shall exercise the powers and carry out the responsibilities vested in the President of the United States by the Panama Canal Code (76A Stat.

Constitutional & Societal Entities Impacted

🏛️ Armed Forces & Military Establishments 🏛️ Private Citizens & Property Owners 🏛️ Foreign Nations & International Entities

Total Words

326

1,969 characters

Estimated Read Time

2 min

@ 200 words / min

Flesch-Kincaid

13.5

Post-Grad reading level

Constitutional Polarity

+0.02

Framers' Alignment index

📜

Scholarly & Legal Citations

Exec. Order No. 12173, Jimmy Carter (Nov 29, 1979). Available at https://executiveordersarchive.org/orders/app-executive-order-12173-panama-canal.

Official Document Text

Source: The American Presidency Project (UCSB Archive)

Original Source →

CONTINUING APPLICABILITY OF PANAMA CANAL REGULATIONS By the authority vested in me as President of the United States of America by Section 301 of Title 3 of the United States Code, by the Panama Canal Code (76A Stat. 1), as amended, and by Public Law 96-70 (93 Stat. 452), and in accordance with the rights granted to the United States of America by the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 "to manage, operate, and maintain the Panama Canal, its complementary works, installations and equipment and to provide for the orderly transit of vessels through the Panama Canal," it is hereby ordered as follows: 1-101. All regulations that were adopted by the President or his delegates pursuant to former Title 2 of the Canal Zone Code (76A Stat. 6-50), repealed by Section 303(a) (1) of Public Law 96—70, or actions taken pursuant thereto, that were in effect on September 30, 1979, and that address matters which the President is authorized to regulate pursuant to Public Law 96-70, shall remain in effect unless or until amended, superseded, or otherwise terminated by the President or the Panama Canal Commission. This extension shall not apply to the extent that any such regulation or action is inconsistent with the provisions of the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977, its implementing agreements, or Public Law 96-70. 1-102. The Secretary of Defense shall exercise the powers and carry out the responsibilities vested in the President of the United States by the Panama Canal Code (76A Stat. 1), as amended, and Public Law 96-70 (93 Stat. 452), except for those powers and responsibilities vested in the President by Sections 1102 (b) , 1103, 1104, 1105(a), 1106(b), 1108, 1109(a), 1112(d), 1243(a)(1), 1321(c), 1344(b), 1504(b), 1601(a), 2206(b) and 3301 of Public Law 96-70. This delegation shall be effective for 120 days after the date of this Order. JIMMY CARTER The White House, November 29, 1979. [Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 2:23 p.m., November 29, 1979]