Much experience has been gained by the Tribunal in adjudicating over 9,000 claims to the Accounts published in 1997. Drawing on this experience, and guided by the principle that individual claims to deposited assets in Swiss banks must be individually adjudicated, new rules to govern the Claims Resolution Tribunal have been developed to substantially accelerate the resolution of claims while maintaining the full benefits of due process of law. Making a Claim Claims may only be submitted for Accounts in Swiss banks owned by Victims or Targets of Nazi Persecution. The people who fall into this class have been defined in the Settlement Agreement as any individual who was persecuted or targeted for persecution by the Nazi Regime because he or she was or was believed to be Jewish, Romani, Jehovah s Witness, homosexual, or physically or mentally disabled or handicapped. To make a claim, Account Owners, their heirs, or others acting on their behalf must fully complete a claim form and submit it to the Tribunal.
Detailed instructions accompany the claim form.
A fully completed claim form is an essential part of this process. The claim form is necessarily a complicated document. It is complicated because it attempts to obtain as complete a history of the claimed Account, and of the claimant s relationship with the Account Owner as is now possible after more than 50 years. It is recognized that some of this information may no longer be obtainable. It is essential, however, for informed, fair and prompt decisions on claims by the Tribunal that all relevant available information be provided.