Executive Order 12115—Permanent American Cemetery in the Republic of Panama

By the authority vested in me as President by the Constitution and the laws of the United States of America, including Section 10 of the Act of March 4, 1923 (42 Stat. 1509), as amended (36 U.S.C. 132), and to implement the intent of the United States Senate (124 Cong. Rec. S 3857 of March 16, 1978) as set forth by Reservations (1) and (3) to the Resolution of Ratification of the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal, it is hereby ordered as follows:

1-101. The Secretary of State shall take all appropriate steps to complete, prior to the date of entry into force of the Treaty Concerning the Permanent Neutrality and Operation of the Panama Canal, hereinafter referred to as the Neutrality Treaty, the negotiations which have begun with the Republic of Panama for an agreement under which the United States of America would, upon the date of entry into force of such agreement and thereafter, administer as a permanent American cemetery such part of Corozal Cemetery as encompasses the remains of citizens of the United States of America.

1-102. Subject to the conclusion of the agreement referred to in Section 1-101 of this Order, the American Battle Monuments Commission shall administer that part of Corozal Cemetery which encompasses the remains of citizens of the United States of America, in accordance with the terms of the agreement with the Republic of Panama.

1-103. The Governor of the Canal Zone shall, to the extent funds are available, disinter from Mount Hope Cemetery, before entry into force of the Neutrality Treaty, and reinter in Corozal Cemetery the remains of United States citizens, and the remains of members of their immediate family that are buried with them. The Governor shall not remove from Mount Hope Cemetery the remains of any such person whose next of kin timely requests in writing that such remains not be disinterred. The Governor shall transport to the United States for reinterment the remains of any such person whose next of kin timely requests in writing that such remains be transported to the United States for reinterment.

1-104. The Secretary of Defense shall, to the extent funds are available, disinter from Corozal Cemetery and transport to the United States for reinterment the remains of United States citizens, and the remains of members of their immediate family buried with them, whose next of kin requests in writing by April 1, 1982, that such remains be transported to the United States for reinterment.

1-105. Subject to the availability of funds, all the costs incurred in the disinterment, reinterment in Corozal Cemetery, and transportation of remains required by this Order, including the costs of preparation, cremation if requested, and a casket or urn, shall be borne by the United States of America. The costs of reinterment in the United States, including any costs for funeral home services, vaults, plots, or crypts, will be the responsibility of the next of kin making the request, except to the extent otherwise provided by law, including any unused specific entitlements available pursuant to statute.

1-106. (a) The Governor of the Canal Zone shall identify, to the extent feasible, the closest surviving next of kin of each deceased United States citizen buried in the Mount Hope and Corozal Cemeteries, and of such next of kin of each member of the immediate family that is buried with such United States citizen.

(b) The Governor shall provide notice to the next of kin of such deceased buried in Mount Hope Cemetery that the Government plans to remove the deceased to Corozal Cemetery unless the next of kin requests in writing, not later than three months after the first issuance of such notification, either that the remains not be removed from Mount Hope Cemetery, or that the remains be moved to, and reinterred in, the United States in a cemetery or other burial site designated by the next of kin.

(c) The Governor shall also provide, notice to the next of kin of such deceased who are buried in Corozal Cemetery that the Government will disinter and transport such deceased to the United States for reinterment in a cemetery or other burial site designated by the next of kin, if the next of kin so requests in writing not later than April 1, 1982.

(d) The Governor shall publish the notices provided for in subsections (b) and (c) of this Section in newspapers, magazines and other periodicals, and utilize such other means of communicating with the next of kin that he finds to be practical and effective.

1-107. The Governor of the Canal Zone shall, before the entry into force of the Neutrality Treaty, fully advise the next of kin of all available options, and their implications, in those cases where a request has been made that remains not be removed from Mount Hope Cemetery.

1-108. The Secretary of the Army shall supervise the planned removal of the remains from Mount Hope Cemetery to Corozal Cemetery and shall ensure compliance with the wishes of any next of kin who, within the time specified in clause B(i) to the Third Reservation to the Neutrality Treaty, objects to such removal.

1-109. As used in this Order:

(a) "Next of kin" means the person whom the Governor of the Canal Zone determines to be the nearest living relative, by consanguinity or affinity, of a person buried at Mount Hope Cemetery or Corozal Cemetery.

(b) "Members of their immediate family" means the spouse, children, mother or father of the deceased United States citizen.

JIMMY CARTER

The White House,

January 19, 1979.

[Filed with the Office of the Federal Register, 11:03 a.m., January 22, 1979]