Title 22, Foreign Relations and IntercourseRelease 119-102

§1645a Definitions

Title 22 › CHAPTER 21 — SETTLEMENT OF INTERNATIONAL CLAIMS › SUBCHAPTER VII — CLAIMS AGAINST VIETNAM › § 1645a

Last updated Aug 21, 2026|Official source

Summary

Names key words used in this part: who counts as a U.S. national, what the Commission is, what counts as property, what “Vietnam” means, and what the Claims Fund is. "National of the United States" means a person who is a U.S. citizen, or a company or legal group formed under U.S. or state law that is owned 50 percent or more by U.S. citizen individuals. "Commission" means the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States. "Property" means any property or interest (including leaseholds) and certain debts tied to property that Vietnam seized, nationalized, or expropriated. "Vietnam" means the Socialist Republic of Vietnam, any earlier authority that ran South Vietnam on or after April 29, 1975 (including the Provisional Revolutionary Government), the former Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and their parts or agencies. "Claims Fund" means the special U.S. Treasury fund made up of amounts paid or recovered under any settlement agreement described in section 1645b between the United States and Vietnam.

Full Legal Text

Title 22, §1645a

Foreign Relations and Intercourse, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

As used in this subchapter—

(1)the term “National of the United States” means—

(A)a natural person who is a citizen of the United States; and

(B)a corporation or other legal entity which is organized under the laws of the United States or of any State, the District of Columbia, or the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, if natural persons who are citizens of the United States own, directly or indirectly, 50 per centum or more of the outstanding capital stock or other beneficial interest of such corporation or entity;

(2)the term “Commission” means the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States;

(3)the term “property” means—

(A)any property, right, or interest, including any leasehold interest,

(B)any debt owed by Vietnam or by any enterprise which has been nationalized, expropriated, or otherwise taken by Vietnam, and

(C)any debt which is a charge on property which has been nationalized, expropriated, or otherwise taken by Vietnam;

(4)the term “Vietnam” means—

(A)the Government of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,

(B)any predecessor governing authority operating in South Vietnam on or after April 29, 1975, including the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South Vietnam,

(C)the Government of the former Democratic Republic of Vietnam, and

(D)any political subdivision, agency, or instrumentality of any of the entities referred to in subparagraphs (A), (B), and (C); and

(5)the term “Claims Fund” means the special fund established in the Treasury of the United States composed of such sums as may be paid to or realized by the United States pursuant to the terms of any agreement settling those claims described in section 1645b of this title that may be entered into between the Governments of the United States and Vietnam.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

22 U.S.C. § 1645a

Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse

Last Updated

Aug 21, 2026

Release point: 119-102