§3862 Panama Canal Board of Contract Appeals

Summary

The Secretary of Defense, after talking with the Panama Canal Commission, can set up a Panama Canal Board of Contract Appeals. The Board will follow parts of title 41. It will have three members and at least one must be licensed to practice law in the Republic of Panama. Members must take an oath. Pay for members is set by the Commission’s supervisory board and cannot be higher than the basic pay for level IV of the Executive Schedule (5 U.S.C. 5315). A member’s pay cannot be cut while they are serving. The Board is the only body that can decide certain appeals from contracting officers under 41 U.S.C. 7105(e). It also has sole authority to decide certain protests under the relevant parts of title 31, with rules that make many references to the Comptroller General instead refer to the Board (except one place where both the Board and the Comptroller General are named). Two types of required reports must also be sent to the Comptroller General. Section 3556 of title 31 does not apply to the Board, but people still may file protests with contracting officers. The Board must make quick procedures, start work once it is set up and has rules, take appeals and protests filed on or after that start date, leave earlier cases where they already were, and may handle other Commission matters if the Commission allows.