22 U.S.C. § 3601
Section 3601 · Congressional statement of purpose
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 7 court decisions — leading case Asociacion de Empleados del Area Canalera v. Panama Canal Commission (2006)
Most recently applied in Asociacion de Empleados del Area Canalera v. Panama Canal Commission (June 2006)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
It is the purpose of this chapter to provide legislation necessary or desirable for the implementation of the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 between the United States of America and the Republic of Panama and of the related agreements accompanying that Treaty.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
References in Text
This chapter, referred to in text, was in the original “this Act”, meaning Pub. L. 96–70, Sept. 27, 1979, 93 Stat. 452, known as the Panama Canal Act of 1979, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note below and Tables.
Effective Date
Section 3304 of Pub. L. 96–70 provided that: “Except as provided in sections 1231 [enacting section 3671 of this title and amending sections 5595, 5724a, and 8102 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees], 1232 [enacting section 3672 of this title and provisions set out as a note under section 3672 of this title], 1241 [amending section 8336 of Title 5 and enacting provisions set out as notes under section 8336 of Title 5], 1242 [amending section 8339 of Title 5 and enacting provisions set out as notes under section 8339 of Title 5], 1261 [enacting section 3691 of this title and provisions set out as a note under section 3691 of this title], 1605 [enacting section 3795 of this title and provisions set out as a note under section 3795 of this title], 2203 [enacting section 3843 of this title and provisions set out as a note under section 3843 of this title], 2402 [enacting section 3852 of this title and provisions set out as a note under section 3852 of this title], 3101 [enacting section 3861 of this title], and 3201 [amending sections 1101 and 1182 of Title 8, Aliens and Nationality, and enacting provisions set out as notes under sections 1101 and 1182 of Title 8] of this Act, the preceding provisions of this Act [see Short Title note below] shall take effect on the date on which the Panama Canal Treaty of 1977 enters into force [Oct. 1, 1979].”
Short Title of 1988 Amendment
Pub. L. 100–705, §1, Nov. 19, 1988, 102 Stat. 4685, provided that: “This Act [enacting sections 3715 to 3715d of this title, amending sections 3612, 3712, and 3731 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 3612 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Panama Canal Commission Compensation Fund Act of 1988’.”
Short Title of 1987 Amendment
Pub. L. 100–203, title V, §5421, Dec. 22, 1987, 101 Stat. 1330–271, provided that: “This part [part 2 of subtitle E (§§5421–5429) of title V of Pub. L. 100–203, enacting section 3714 of this title, amending sections 3683, 3711, 3712, 3713, 3751, 3753, 3754, 3792, and 3793 of this title and section 8348 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 3683 of this title] may be referred to as the ‘Panama Canal Revolving Fund Act’.”
Short Title of 1985 Amendment
Pub. L. 99–209, §1, Dec. 23, 1985, 99 Stat. 1716, provided that: “This Act [enacting section 3779 of this title, amending sections 3771, 3772, and 3774 to 3776 of this title, and enacting provisions set out as a note under section 3771 of this title] may be cited as the ‘Panama Canal Amendments Act of 1985’.”
Short Title
Section 1 of Pub. L. 96–70 provided that: “This Act [enacting this chapter, amending section 2778 of this title, sections 305, 5102, 5316, 5342, 5343, 5348, 5373, 5504, 5533, 5541, 5583, 5595, 5724a, 6301, 6322, 6323, 8102, 8146, 8335, 8336, 8339, 8348, 8701, and 8901 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees, sections 1101 and 1182 of Title 8, Aliens and Nationality, section 213 of Title 29, Labor, sections 403, 3401, and 3682 of Title 39, Postal Service, and sections 191, 195, and 196 of Title 50, War and National Defense, repealing section 3402 of Title 39 and section 191b of Title 50, and enacting provisions set out as notes under sections 3601, 3602, 3672, 3691, 3795, 3843, and 3852 of this title, sections 8336 and 8339 of Title 5, and sections 1101 and 1182 of Title 8] may be cited as the ‘Panama Canal Act of 1979’.”
Ex. Ord. No. 12215. Delegation of Panama Canal Functions
Ex. Ord. No. 12215, May 27, 1980, 45 F.R. 36043, as amended by Ex. Ord. No. 12652, Sept. 19, 1988, 53 F.R. 36775, provided:
By the authority vested in me as President of the United States of America by the Panama Canal Code (76A Stat. 1), as amended, by the Panama Canal Act of 1979 (93 Stat. 452; 22 U.S.C. 3601 et seq.), and by Section 301 of Title 3 of the United States Code, it is hereby ordered as follows: