Opinions of the Mixed Claims Commission, United States and Germany (Part II)

Abstract

The Mixed Claims Commission, United States and Germany, is nearing the completion of its labors. It has considered about 12,000 claims, of which about 7,000 have been entirely disallowed. The claims as originally instituted amounted to some $1,480,000,000, including the government claim for reimbursement of Rhine Army costs, a claim not pressed. The awards to American citizens and corporations will amount, it is estimated, to about $125,000,000 principal and about $50,000,000 interest (to January, 1926), a total of about $175,000,000; the government's claims for subrogation as an insurer on maritime losses, for lost Shipping Board vessels, and in the Veterans’ Bureau, will amount, with interest, to about $60,000,000. Considering that the treaty under which these awards were made established rules of liability and damages widely exceeding the rules of international law, the ratio between awards and claims is probably not far in excess of the average, which is comparatively small. It may also be said that the commission, dealing with 12,000 claims in approximately three years, has established a record for speedy adjudications never before achieved. A critique of the decisions and opinions of the commission down to January, 1925, was essayed in an editorial comment published in this Journal, Volume XIX, p. 133. The present article will undertake to consider the decisions and opinions rendered during 1925. These practically conclude the decisive judicial work of the commission.