PANAMA CANAL TREATY (DISPOSITION OF UNITED STATES TERRITORY) HEARINGS BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON SEPARATION OF POWERS OF THE COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY UNITED STATES SENATE NINETY-FIFTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ᏢᎪᎡᎢ 4 MARCH 11, 1978 Printed for the use of the Committee on the Judiciary 24-681 O U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE WASHINGTON: 1978 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 QUENTIN CROMMELIN, Jr., Chief Counsel and Staff Director DEIRDRE HOUCHINS, Research Assistant CONTENTS STATEMENT Helms, Hon. Jesse, a U.S. Senator from the State of North Carolina----- 7 MATERIAL SUBMITTED FOR THE RECORD Final Report of the Joint Commission appointed by the President of the United States of America and the President of the Republic of Panama, under the provisions of articles VI and XV of the treaty ratified Feb- Provisional Boundary Agreement (Davis-Arias Agreement) Informal pro- visional delimitation of the boundaries of the Canal Zone, 1904-- Staff report regarding property records in the custody of the U.S. District Representative sample of types of instruments of conveyance by which the United States, as grantee, purchased proprietary land rights in the PANAMA CANAL TREATY (DISPOSITION OF UNITED STATES TERRITORY) ᏢᎪᎡᎢ 4 SATURDAY, MARCH 11, 1978 U.S. SENATE, SUBCOMMITTEE ON SEPARATION OF POWERS, COMMITTEE ON THE JUDICIARY, Washington, D.C. The subcommittee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:15 a.m., in room 1318, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. James B. Allen of Alabama (chairman of the subcommittee), presiding. Present: Senator Orrin G. Hatch of Utah. Also present: Senator Jesse Helms of North Carolina. Staff present: Quentin Crommelin, Jr., chief counsel and staff director; Paul Guller, editorial director; and Deirdre Houchins, research assistant. OPENING STATEMENT OF CHAIRMAN ALLEN Senator ALLEN. The Subcommittee on Separation of Powers of the Committee on the Judiciary is convened today for the purpose of receiving the testimony of Doris McClellan, clerk of the U.S. court for the Panama Canal Zone, and of James C. Luitweiler, formerly Secretary of the Joint United States-Republic of Panama Land Commission. The committee is convened for the further purpose of acting on the staff draft of the report of the subcommittee on the Canal Zone property disposal issue, the main focus of the committee's work during the past 8 months. As has been constantly emphasized for some time now during the Canal Treaty debate, the Constitution does very plainly require that Congress authorize any disposal of property belonging to the United States. Specifically, article IV, section 3, clause 2, of the Constitution states as follows: "Congress shall have the power to dispose of *** the territory or other property belonging to the United States." The requirements of this constitutional provision do not have anything whatsoever to do with whether or not the United States is sovereign within the Canal Zone or even whether the Canal Zone is unincorporated territory of the United States as the Federal courts have consistently held. The issue is simply whether the United States owns property in Panama. If property is owned by the United States, then no disposal of such property to Panama can occur without the express prior authorization of the Congress, including the House of Representatives. |