award on account of the death of any such person shall be made only to or for the benefit of the following persons:

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"(1) Widow or husband if there is no child or children of the deceased; "(2) 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;

"(3) Child or children of the deceased (in equal shares) if there is no widow or husband; and

"(4) Parents (in equal shares) if there is no widow, husband, or child.

"An award on account of disability shall be made only to the person so disabled, or, in the event of his death at any time prior to the making of the award, to the persons specified in paragraphs (1) through (4) of this subsection in the order so specified.

"(h) Losses resulting from the removal of industrial or other capital equipment in Germany owned directly or indirectly by the claimant on May 8, 1945, and removed for the purpose of reparations including losses from any destruction of property in connection with such removal. If a claim which could otherwise be allowed under this subsection has been assigned for value, the assignee shall be the party entitled to claim hereunder.

"SEC. 204. Within sixty days after the enactment of this title or of legislation making appropriations to the Commission for payment of administrative expenses incurred in carrying out its functions under this title, whichever date is later, the Commission shall give public notice by publication in the Federal Register of the time when, and the limit of time within which, claims may be filed, which limit shall be eighteen months after such publication.

"SEC. 205. The amount of any award based on a claim of a national of the United States other than the national of the United States by whom the loss was originally sustained shall not exceed the amount of the actual consideration last paid for such claim prior to January 1, 1953.

"SEC. 206. The Commission shall have jurisdiction to receive, examine, adjudicate, and render awards and decisions with respect to all of the foregoing claims herein before specified. In passing upon the validity of such claims the Commission shall comply with all of the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act of 1946 and shall also comply with the procedural and equitable principles and rules hereinafter specifically enumerated. The Commission shall, as soon as possible, and in the order of making such awards, certify to the Secretary of the Treasury, in terms of United States currency, each award made pursuant to section 203.

"SEC. 207. Persons desiring to claim pursuant to section 203 of this Act shall file notice of claim with the Commission within eighteen months after the publication by the Commission of public notice thereof of the Federal Register, such claim to be in such form and manner as may be determined by regulations to be duly promulgated and published by the Commission: Provided, however, That if, prior to the enactment of this section, a claimant has filed with such Commission or with the International Claims Commission or with the War Claims Commission or with the Department of State of the United States a claim for loss or destruction of or taking of or damage to property as specified in section 203 of this Act, no additional claim need be filed unless a claimant should desire to supplement or amend such claim as previously filed.

"SEC. 208. In the process of receiving, considering, and adjudicating said claims, the Commission shall be guided and controlled at all times, in the exercise of its said functions, by the following procedural and equitable principles and rules:

"(a) Preference in the processing and adjudication of said claims shall be given to natural persons as claimants who (1) are over sixty years of age or (2) have not been able to take full advantage of section 127 of the Internal Revenue Code, as it was in force and effect during the year 1953, in deducting war losses from their Federal income taxes;

"(b) In determining the facts with respect to any particular claim, including the issue as to replacement cost, no evidence shall be received by the Commission from any of the governments, forces, authorities, organizations, or persons, or their employees or agents, who were parties to or who were in any respect responsible for the loss or taking or dispossession of or damage to such property unless the claimant in such case shall consent in writing in advance to the consideration by said Commission of any such evidence;

"(c) The Commission shall not solicit, request, or accept, from any foreign government or from any official, agent, or employee thereof, any representation or any expression of views whatsoever as to the alleged merits or demerits or as to the validity of any such claim unless the claimant involved shall expressly consent in writing in advance to the consideration of such material in the process of adjudication of his or its claim: Provided, however, That any claimant may at his or its option submit for the consideration of the Commission documents which have been duly authenticated by a foreign government or by the authorities or officials thereof, and in such event such evidence shall be considered by the Commission in passing upon the merits of such claim; and

"(d) In the processing and adjudication of the claims mentioned in section 203 of this Act, the Commission shall at all times be guided by, and shall give full recognition to, those fundamental equitable principles of fair play and justice which will insure the reasonableness and adequacy of the compensation to be awarded to citizens and nationals of the United States, and such equitable considerations shall in all cases prevail over any prior decisions by any commission, agency, or court irrespective as to whether such decisions were rendered within or without the United States.

"SEC. 209. All claimants whose claims are not processed, adjudicated, and paid within two years after the claims shall have been filed as herein provided, or within two years after passage of this Act, whichever is the later, may institute a civil action de novo in the District Court of the United States for the District of Columbia or in the Court of Claims within one year after the expiration of said two-year period in which said Commission has failed to act upon said claim as above provided, in which suit the United States shall be made a party defendant, through service of process upon the Attorney General, to establish the loss or damage sustained by the claimant through loss or destruction of or damage to his property as hereinabove specified, and if so established in accordance with the equitable tenets and principles herein enumerated the said district court or the said Court of Claims shall forthwith order, adjudge, or decree the payment of adequate and just compensation to the claimant in the judgment to be entered by it in such action. Copies of the summons or other process in such suits shall be served upon the Attorney General of the United States and the Chairman of the Commission. Any claimant who is aggrieved with any decision of the said district court in the adjudication of his claim or in the denial of his claims, shall have the right to have full judicial review of the final decision, order, or judgment of the district court in such case in the same manner as is now provided under applicable law in the case of any other civil action which has been properly instituted in the District Court of the United States for the District of Columbia. Any claimant who is aggrieved with any decision of the said Court of Claims in the adjudication of his claim or in the denial of his claims, shall have the right to have full judicial review of the final decision, order or judgment of the Court of Claims in such case in the same manner as is now provided under applicable law (28 U.S.C.A. 1255). "SEC. 210. (a) Any claimant who is aggrieved with any final decision, award, or order of the Commission in the adjudication of his or its claim or in the denial of his or its claim may appeal from such decisions, awards, and orders of the Commission to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia to obtain a complete judicial review of said decisions, awards, and orders, as provided by the Administrative Procedure Act.

"(b) Such appeal shall be taken by filing a notice of appeal with the court within thirty days from the date when the claimant has been duly notified by the Commission by registered mail (return receipt requested) of the entry or filing by it of the decision, award, or order complained of. Such notice of appeal shall contain a concise statement of the nature of the proceedings as to which the appeal is taken; a concise statement of the reasons on which the appellant intends to rely, separately stated and numbered; and proof of service of a true copy of said notice and statement upon the Commission. Upon filing of such notice, the court shall have jurisdiction of the proceedings and of the questions determined therein.

"(c) Upon the filing of any such notice of appeal the Commission shall, not later than five days after the date of service upon it, notify each person shown by the records of the Commission to be interested in said appeal, of the filing and pendency of the same and shall thereafter permit any such person to inspect and make copies of said notice and statement of reasons therefor at the office of the Commission in the city of Washington. Within thirty days after the

filing of an appeal, the Commission shall file with the court a copy of the decision, award, or order complained of, a full statement in writing of the facts and grounds relied upon by it in support of the order, award, or decision involved upon said appeal, and the originals of or certified copies of all papers and evidence presented to and considered by it in entering said order, award, or decision.

"(d) The record and briefs upon which any such appeal shall be heard and determined by the court shall contain such information and material, and shall be prepared within such time and in such manner as the court may by rule prescribe.

"(e) Such proceedings in the court shall be given preference over other cases pending therein and shall be in every way expedited. At the earliest convenient time the court shall hear and determine the appeal upon the record before it is in the manner prescribed by section 10 of the Administrative Procedure Act (title 5, U.S.C.A. 1009).

"(f) In the event that the court shall render a decision and enter an order reversing the order of the Commission, it shall remand the case to the Commission to carry out the judgment of the court and it shall be the duty of the Commission (in the absence of proceedings to review such judgment as hereinafter provided) to forthwith give effect thereto, and unless otherwise ordered by the court, to do so upon the basis of the proceedings already had and the record upon which said appeal was heard and determined. If the claimantappellant shall apply to the court for leave to adduce additional evidence, and shall show to the satisfaction of the court that such additional evidence is material and relevant, and that there were reasonable grounds for the failure to adduce such evidence in the proceeding before the Commission, the court may order such additional evidence to be taken before the Commission and to be adduced upon such further hearing in such manner and upon such terms and conditions as to the court may seem proper.

"(g) The court's judgment shall be final, subject, however, to review by the Supreme Court of the United States upon writ of certiorari on petition therefor under section 1254 of title 28, United States Code Annotated, by the appellant, by the Commission, or by certification by the court pursuant to the provisions of that section.

"SEC. 211. All moneys required for the processing and payment of said claims and awards and judgments thereon shall be provided and covered into said German Claims Fund by the Secretary of the Treasury from the following

sources:

"(1) Moneys received or to be received by the United States from the Federal Republic of Germany under and pursuant to article I of the agreement between the United States of America and the Federal Republic of Germany regarding the settlement of the claim of the United States for postwar economic assistance (other than surplus property) to Germany dated February 27, 1953, totaling the sum of $1,000,000,000, and the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to cover said installment payments into the German Claims Fund.

"(2) Moneys deposited into the Treasury of the United States by the War Damage Corporation, representing the profits of its operations, in the aggregate amount of $210,598,722.38.

"(3) Moneys paid into the Treasury of the United States representing the net amount of cash received by the United States by way of reparations under the terms of the so-called Eighteen Power Paris Agreement on Reparation from Germany dated January 14, 1946, resulting from the Paris Conference on Reparation, such moneys amounting to the aggregate sum of $27,717,380.57.

"(4) Out of prior appropriations by the Congress to the Foreign Operations Administration or its predecessors not actually expended or obligated at the date of passage of this Act, such allocation, however, not to exceed the sum of $1,000,000,000.

"(5) Moneys payable to the United States of America under and pursuant to any future treaty or agreement between the United States and the Federal Republic of Germany or moneys payable to the United States under and pursuant to any future treaty or agreement between the United States and the Government of a unified Germany in the event that such treaties or agreements, or any of them, provide for the payment of any war-damage compensation, as defined in section 48 of this Act, to citizens or nationals of the United States. "In the event that the sums hereinabove mentioned to be provided for pay

ment of such claims are insufficient for such purpose for any reason whatsoever, then in such event any additional amounts of money necessary to pay the awards or judgments granted claimants are hereby expressly appropriated for such purpose.

"SEC 212. All payments authorized under section 207 of this title shall be disbursed exclusively from the German Claims Fund and all amounts covered into the Treasury to the credit of such funds are permanently appropriated for the making of the payments authorized under this Act.

"SEC. 213. The property damage claims of citizens or nationals of the United States shall be fully paid and compensated for as herein provided and the amount of any award or judgment shall be paid in full forthwith upon the entry of said final award or judgment and no payment thereof may be adjudicated or made on an installment basis or for a lesser amount than the full face amount of damages adjudicated in the final judgment or award entered as herein provided. With respect to any claim which, at the time of the award, is vested in persons other than the person by whom the loss was sustained the Commission may issue a consolidated award in favor of all claimants then entitled thereto, which award shall indicate the respective interests of such claimants, therein; and all such claimants shall participate in proportion to their indicated interests, in the payments provided by this section, in all respects as if the award had been in favor of a single person.

"SEC. 214. The program of payment of property damage claims of citizens or nationals of the United States as herein provided shall be effectuated as rapidly as return of vested assets of nationals of Germany as herein provided, namely, the return of vested assets of German nationals in any given calendar year shall not exceed in aggregate amount in such calendar year the aggregate of actual payments in such calendar year of war damage claims of citizens or nationals of the United States as herein specified.

"SEC. 215. (a) The Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to adhere to the following procedures in making payments for awards of the Commission :

"(1) Payment in full of the principal amount of all awards made pursuant to section 203 should the claimant elect to receive such award.

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"(2) In the event that the claimant elects not to receive an award of the Commission and has availed himself or itself of the procedure for judicial review of the decision or award of the Commission as hereinbefore provided, or in event that a claimant has not had his claim processed and adjudicated by the Commission within two years after the passage of this Act, whichever is the later date, and has availed himself or itself of the privilege of instituting a civil action in the District Court of the United States for the District of Columbia or in the Court of Claims as hereinabove provided, then in such event the Secretary of the Treasury is authorized and directed to create an adequate reserve out of the German Claims Fund for the payment of such claim should the claimant be ultimately successful, in whole or in part, in pursuing his said judicial remedies; and thereupon payments may be and shall be made on account of all other awards as above provided, in all respects as if payment of awards had been made on account of the claims as to which judicial remedies are being availed of to the end that there shall be no delay in the payment of awards accepted by claimants.

"SEC. 216. There is authorized to be appropriated such sums as may be necessary to enable the Commission and the Treasury Department to pay their administrative expenses incurred in carrying out their functions under this title. "SEC. 217. No remuneration on account of services rendered on behalf of any claimant pursuant to the provisions of this Act shall exceed 10 per centum of the total amount of any award or judgment and any agreement to the contrary shall be unlawful and void: Provided, however, That any agent, attorney at law or in fact, or representative believing that the aggregate of the fees should be in excess of such 10 per centum, may petition the district court of the United States for the district in which he resides for an order authorizing fees in excess of 10 per centum and shall name the United States as respondent by service of a copy of the said petition upon the Attorney General of the United States or upon the United States attorney in such district. The court hearing such petition or a court awarding any judgment in respect of any such claim shall approve an aggregate of fees in excess of 10 per centum of the amount of such award or judgment only upon a finding that there exist special circumstances of unusual hardship which require the payment of such excess.

"SEC. 218. If any person to whom any payment is to be made pursuant to this title is deceased or is under a legal disability, payment shall be made to his legal representative, except that if any payment to be made is not over $1,000 and there is no qualified executor or administrator, payment may be made to the person or persons found by the Comptroller General to be entitled thereto, without the necessity of compliance with the requirements of law with respect to administration estates.

"SEC. 219. No award shall be made under this title to or for the benefit of any individual who voluntarily, knowingly, and without duress, gave aid to or collaborated with or in any manner served any government hostile to the United States during World War II.

"SEC. 220. The Commission shall complete its affairs in connection with the settlement of claims pursuant to this title not later than five years following the enactment of legislation making appropriations to the Commission for payment of administrative expenses incurred in carrying out its functions under this title. Nothing in this provision shall be construed to limit the life of the Commission, or its authority to act with respect to other categories of claims which may be effected under the provision of this Act.

"SEC. 221. The Secretary of State is authorized and directed to transfer or otherwise make available to the Commission such records and documents relating to claims authorized by this Act as may be required by the Commission in carrying out its functions under this Act.

"SEC. 222. To the extent that they are not inconsistent with any provisions of this title, the following provisions of the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949 shall be applicable to this title: Subsections (c), (d) of section 7.

"SEC. 223. Payment of any award or judgment pursuant to this title shall not, unless such payment is for the full amount of the claim, extinguish such claim, or be construed to have divested any claimant, or the United States on his behalf, of any rights against any foreign government for the unpaid balance of his claim."

SEC. 8. If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstances, shall be held invalid, the remainder of the Act, or the application of such provision to other persons or circumstances, shall not be affected.

Hon. JAMES O. EASTLAND,

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE,
OFFICE OF THE DEPUTY ATTORNEY GENERAL,
Washington, D.C., June 5, 1959.

Chairman, Committee on the Judiciary,

U.S. Senate, Washington, D.C.

DEAR SENATOR EASTLAND: This is to present the views of the Department of Justice on a bill (S. 744) to amend the Trading With the Enemy Act, as amended, and the War Claims Act of 1948, as amended.

S. 744 has two main purposes. It would authorize the payment of compensation to nationals of the United States who have certain categories of war damage against Germany, and it would effect the return of German and Japanese assets vested under the Trading With the Enemy Act to former owners who are individuals as distinguished from business enterprises.

The bill, in general, would grant compensation for the same types of American war damage claims against Germany as S. 2005, the administration bill sponsored by the Foreign Claims Settlement Commission. However, the administration bill would use the available proceeds of vested assets as the source of compensation while S. 744 would use mainly a sum of $210,598,722.38, representing the "profits of *** operation" of the War Damage Corporation deposited in the Treasury, and German installment payments being made to the United States pursuant to the 1952 agreement settling Germany's obligation for postwar economic aid. Moreover, contrary to the subject bill, the administration bill would authorize the payment of compensation to certain American claimants against Japan in an aggregate amount not to exceed $10 million.

Inasmuch as the provisions of S. 744 concerned with war damage claims vary significantly from S. 2005, the bill drafted and recommended by the administration, the Department of Justice is unable to recommend the enactment of these provisions.