Title 43, Public LandsRelease 119-102
§1342 Prior Claims as Unaffected
Title 43 › CHAPTER 29 — SUBMERGED LANDS › SUBCHAPTER III — OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS › § 1342
Summary
If someone already got rights under any U.S. law for lands covered by this part, those rights remain and are controlled by the law that was in place when they were gained. Congress is not saying those older laws definitely apply to these lands or that the rights must be granted, and who decides whether those laws apply is not changed by this law.
Full Legal Text
Title 43, §1342
Public Lands, Source: USLM XML via OLRC
Nothing herein contained shall affect such rights, if any, as may have been acquired under any law of the United States by any person in lands subject to this subchapter and such rights, if any, shall be governed by the law in effect at the time they may have been acquired: Provided, however, That nothing herein contained is intended or shall be construed as a finding, interpretation, or construction by the Congress that the law under which such rights may be claimed in fact applies to the lands subject to this subchapter or authorizes or compels the granting of such rights in such lands, and that the determination of the applicability or effect of such law shall be unaffected by anything herein contained.
Reference
Citations & Metadata
Citation
43 U.S.C. § 1342
Title 43, Public Lands
Last Updated
Aug 21, 2026
Release point: 119-102