The Foreign Claims Settlement Commission of the United States is an independent agency within the Department of Justice which adjudicates claims of U.S. nationals against foreign governments either under specific jurisdiction conferred by Congress or pursuant to international claims settlement agreements. Funds for payment of the Commission’s awards are variously derived from congressional appropriations, international claims settlements, or liquidation of foreign assets in the United States by the Departments of Justice and the Treasury.

The commission also furnishes technical assistance and advice to other Federal agencies and offices in planning new claims adjudication programs and negotiating international claims settlement agreements. In addition, the Commission is responsible for maintaining records and responding to inquiries relating to the various claims programs it has conducted under the International Claims Settlement Act of 1949, as amended, involving the Governments of Yugoslavia, Panama, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Romania, Italy, the former Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, Cuba, the DDR, China, Vietnam, Ethiopia, and Egypt, as well as those authorized under the War Claims Act of 1948 and other statutes.