The various panels submit their compensation proposals to the governing council which has, so far, always followed their recommendations. The executive secretary is appointed by the secretary general, after consulting the governing council. This person directs the secretariat, which consists of 240 people from 60 different countries. The secretariat is the seat of real power. English is the working language, which forces Iraq to translate all its documents.
National governments centralise claims belonging to the various categories.
Interest will only be paid once the principal has been refunded. It has not yet been decided whether categories D, E and F will qualify for compensation for legal fees preparing their cases. About 100 governments have filed claims. Payment of category A and C claims was completed in September. East-West Debt has made every effort to ensure the accuracy of this publication.