§4132 — Title 50 War and National Defense | U.S. Code

Summary

The Commission must take and decide claims from U.S. nationals for certain losses that happened because of World War II. It covers loss, damage, or destruction of property in listed European countries (Albania, Austria, Czechoslovakia, the Free Territory of Danzig, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Yugoslavia, and areas that were part of Hungary or Rumania on December 1, 1937 but not included in those countries on September 15, 1947) when the loss happened September 1, 1939 to May 8, 1945. It also covers property in territory attacked or occupied by Imperial Japan from July 1, 1937 to September 2, 1945, including territory Japan renounced under Article 2 of the Peace Treaty with Japan, but not the island of Guam. Claims for losses in the Commonwealth of the Philippines are allowed only for U.S. nationals who swear they received no payment under the Philippine Rehabilitation Act of 1946. The Commission also handles claims for loss or damage to ships or cargo owned by U.S. nationals and for net losses paid by war‑risk insurers for ship claims caused by military action by Germany or Japan from September 1, 1939 to September 2, 1945. Insurers or reinsurers cannot get awards as successors to insureds. The Commission can award for death, injury, permanent disability, or property losses to civilian U.S. nationals who were passengers on commercial ships and were harmed by German or Japanese military action from September 1, 1939 to December 11, 1941. Death awards go only to survivors in this order: spouse if no children; spouse and children (half to spouse, half to children equally); children if no spouse; parents if no spouse or children. Injury or disability awards go only to the injured person. Property loss on the vessel is payable if the Commission finds it reasonable, and if the owner died, payment follows the same survivor order.

Title 50, §4132

War and National Defense — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

The Commission is directed to receive and to determine according to the provisions of this subchapter the validity and amount of claims of nationals of the United States for— (a)

(b)damage to, or loss or destruction of, ships or ship cargoes directly or indirectly owned by a national of the United States at the time such damage, loss, or destruction occurred, which was a direct consequence of military action by Germany or Japan during the period beginning September 1, 1939, and ending September 2, 1945; no award shall be made under this subsection in favor of any insurer or reinsurer as assignee or otherwise as successor in interest to the right of the insured;

(c)net losses under war-risk insurance or reinsurance policies or contracts, incurred in the settlement of claims for insured losses of ships directly or indirectly owned by a national of the United States at the time of the loss, damage, or destruction of such ships and at the time of the settlement of such claims, which insured losses were a direct consequence of military action by Germany or Japan during the period beginning September 1, 1939, and ending September 2, 1945; such net losses shall be determined by deducting from the aggregate of all payments made in the settlement of such insured losses the aggregate of the net amounts received by any such insurance companies on all policies of contracts of war-risk insurance or reinsurance on ships under which the insured was a national of the United States, after deducting expenses; and

(d)loss or damage on account of—

(1)the death of any person who, being then a civilian national of the United States and a passenger on any vessel engaged in commerce on the high seas, died or was killed as a result of military action by Germany or Japan which occurred during the period beginning September 1, 1939, and ending December 11, 1941; awards under this paragraph shall be made only to or for the benefit of the following persons in the order of priority named:

(A)widow or husband if there is no child or children of the deceased;

(B)widow or husband and child or children of the deceased, one-half to the widow or husband and the other half to the child or children of the deceased in equal shares;

(C)child or children of the deceased (in equal shares) if there is no widow or husband; and

(D)parents of the deceased (in equal shares) if there is no widow, husband, or child;

(2)injury or permanent disability sustained by any person, who being then a civilian national of the United States and a passenger on any vessel engaged in commerce on the high seas, was injured or permanently disabled as a result of military action by Germany or Japan which occurred during the period beginning September 1, 1939, and ending December 11, 1941; awards under this paragraph shall be payable solely to the person so injured or disabled;

(3)the loss or destruction, as a result of such action, of property on such vessel, as determined by the Commission to be reasonable, useful, necessary, or proper under the circumstances, which property was owned by any civilian national of the United States who was then a passenger on such vessel; and in the case of the death of any person suffering such loss, awards under this paragraph shall be made only to or for the benefit of the persons designated in paragraph (1) of this subsection and in the order of priority named therein.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

The Philippine Rehabilitation Act of 1946, referred to in subsec. (a), is act Apr. 30, 1946, ch. 243, 60 Stat. 128, which was classified to sections 1751 to 1806 of the former Appendix to this title, prior to omission from the Code as terminated. Codification Section was formerly classified to section 2017a of the former Appendix to this title prior to editorial reclassification and renumbering as this section.

§4132 Claims authorized

Summary

Title 50, §4132

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

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