The EEZ/CSA: Consistent with International Custom

The proposed Exclusive Economic Zone and Continental Shelf Act ("EEZ/CSA") is a vehicle through which Congress may implement both President Truman\´s 1945 Proclamation and President Reagan\´s Exclusive Economic Zone Proclamation in conformity with customary international law as it has most recently been codified in the Law of the Sea Treaty ("Treaty").1/ The EEZ/CSA is such a vehicle because it incorporates many of the same customary usages that are found in the Treaty.2/ The EEZ/CSA, however, has its own independent basis in custom. To demonstrate this, this paper will undertake a brief historical analysis. It will show that the two main provisions of the EEZ/CSA are consistent with customs that arose to complement the traditional law of the sea.