Title 50, War and National DefenseRelease 119-110

§4132 Claims Authorized

Title 50 › CHAPTER 51 — WAR CLAIMS › SUBCHAPTER II — TITLE II OF WAR CLAIMS ACT OF 1948 › § 4132

Last updated Sep 23, 2026|Official source

Summary

The Commission must accept and decide claims from U.S. citizens for certain World War II losses. It covers: loss, destruction, or physical damage to property in specified European countries and in territories Japan occupied (except Guam); loss or damage to ships or ship cargo owned by U.S. nationals caused by German or Japanese military action; net losses paid by war‑risk insurers who settled claims for U.S.‑owned ships because of that military action; and death, injury, or loss of personal property suffered by U.S. civilian passengers on merchant ships due to German or Japanese military action. The law gives exact date ranges for each kind of claim (for example, European property losses between September 1, 1939 and May 8, 1945; Japan‑occupied territory losses between July 1, 1937 and September 2, 1945; ship losses mostly between September 1, 1939 and September 2, 1945; passenger deaths and injuries between September 1, 1939 and December 11, 1941). Claims must result directly from military operations or enemy‑targeted measures, the property must have been owned by a U.S. national then, Philippine claimants must certify they got no Philippine Rehabilitation Act payment, and insurers cannot recover awards as successors to insureds.

Full Legal Text

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.

Legislative History

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.

Reference

Citations & Metadata

Citation

50 U.S.C. § 4132

Title 50, War and National Defense

Last Updated

Sep 23, 2026

Release point: 119-110