ABSTRACT
The Panama Canal Treaty contained a number of provisions that were self-executing, but it also had important portions that required additional legislation. The legislation was principally designed to insure that the United States could manage and maintain the Canal in order that it would remain open and operating, and that it would defend the Canal in order to prevent its closure due to hostile action. Canal Commission Administrator Dennis P. McAuliffe stated to the Senate Armed Services Committee in June 1980 that despite many built-in hazards and chances for failure, the management of the Canal and the transition to the new administrative organization had been successful and without major difficulty. The Panama Canal Company and/or the Canal Zone government had been responsible for a number of public services and functions that had to be transferred to the Panamanian government under the provisions of the treaty.
