Using Computers to Evaluate Claims at the United Nations Compensation Commission

Abstract

UNTIL VERY recently it was said that lawyers and the legal profession were falling behind other fields in the use of computer technology. The profession was facing a serious problem in this regard which had not received sufficient attention, and it was only a matter of time before widespread computer illiteracy among lawyers would do harm to their law practices and to the profession.1 These predictions have proven to be wrong. Particularly since 1990, the profession collectively has accelerated the pace of technological change to integrate computers into support functions for numerous aspects of law practice.2 Most lawyers today believe that technology has improved the quality of their work, leading not only to improvements in turnaround time and service, but also to increases in profitability.3 The recent establishment of an on-line alternate dispute resolution pilot program is yet another aspect of the expanding use of computers.4 This article addresses the role of computer technology in a slightly different legal context, at the UN Compensation Commission (the ‘UNCC’), the arbitral claims facility established in 1991 in response to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August 1990. While the use of computers at the UNCC was contemplated from the outset, the widespread reliance on technology has surpassed – necessarily – all initial expectations. The UNCC has worked very hard to develop a system for reviewing more than 1.3 million claims using an impressive technological base for tracking and processing the claims. It uses sophisticated computer databases and uniquely designed programs for registration, tracking, grouping and analyzing the claims, including development of processing criteria; statistical modelling and regression analysis; matching verification evidence to the claims; selection of sample claims; extrapolating sampling results; duplicate and cross-category claims checking; and the calculation and reporting of compensation. The focus here is particularly on …