Source: http://www.en.nationalfonds.org/articles/20070111003410005.html
Timestamp: 2013-05-18 18:32:01
Document Index: 535602944

Matched Legal Cases: ['art 1', 'art 2', 'art 3', 'art 4', 'art 5', 'art 6']

National Fund of the Republic of Austria for Victims of National Socialism - General Settlement Fund - Rules of Procedure of the Claims Committee (Printing Version)
Content → General Settlement Fund → Processing Rules of Procedure of the Claims Committee
Adopted on 2 July 2002, amended on 26 February 2004, 13 December 2005, 1 July 2009 and last amended on June 25, 2012. The amendments are highlighted in italics.
Part 1 - GeneralSect. 1 Adoption and Publication of the Rules of Procedure
(1) The Rules of Procedure of the Claims Committee of the General
Settlement Fund (the Rules) are adopted by the Claims Committee
pursuant to Section 12 of the General Settlement Fund Law (the Law).
The Rules may be amended by decision of the Claims Committee.
(2) On adoption, the Rules as well as any amendment to them shall be
published in the Amtsblatt zur Wiener Zeitung and simultaneously on the
Home Page of the General Settlement Fund.Sect. 2 Use of terms (1) Terms used have the same meaning in the Rules as in the Law. (2) Personal expressions used in the Rules apply, according to the context, equally to men and to women.Sect. 3 Committee Secretariat
(1) In accordance with Section 4, paragraph 5 of the Law, the National
Fund of the Republic of Austria provides the technical and
administrative support for the Claims Committee (2) The
Secretary General and the administrative apparatus of the General
Settlement Fund shall act as the Secretariat of the Claims Committee.
(3) The Secretary General shall appoint a person to be Secretary of the
Claims Committee who shall be present at all Sessions of the Committee.
The duties of the Secretary shall in particular be: the preparation of
Sessions, the distribution of papers and supporting documents to
Committee Members, the establishment of the Agenda and the preparation
of the Record in accordance with Section 7, paragraph 6. A member of
the staff of the National Fund or the General Settlement Fund may
substitute for the Secretary in the execution of any of the latters
duties.Sect. 4 Confidentiality (1) The Members of
the Claims Committee, the members of the Secretariat and other persons
employed by the General Settlement Fund, as well as all other persons,
including experts, observers and witnesses, present at Sessions of the
Claims Committee, or engaged in the preparation of such Sessions or in
the handling of Applications, shall maintain strict confidentiality of
the information that comes to their knowledge in the course of such
activities. (2) Observers nominated by the bodies referred
to in Section 19 paragraph 1 are obliged to make a written declaration
accepting this obligation of confidentiality before they are admitted
to any Session of the Claims Committee. (3) The bodies
entitled to nominate observers under Section 19 are bound by the
obligation of strict confidentiality laid down in Section 12 of the Law
and have to make arrangements for handling reports received from their
nominated observers which conform to the requirements of that Section.Part 2 - The Claims Committee Sect. 5 Composition
(1) The Claims Committee is composed of one Member each appointed by
the Governments of the United States of America and the Austrian
Federal Government, together with a Chairman appointed pursuant to
Section 4, paragraph 2 of the Law. (2) A vacancy caused by the
incapacity or resignation of a Member shall be filled by applying
mutatis mutandis the provisions of Section 4 of the Law.Sect. 6 Status and Functions of the Claims Committee (1) Functions on the Claims Committee shall be carried out in a personal capacity.
(2) The Claims Committee and its Members shall be independent in the
exercise of their functions and not bound by any instructions. (3) The Claims Committee shall decide on all matters necessary for the exercise of its functions under the Law.Sect. 7 Sessions of the Claims Committee
(1) In principle, all Sessions of the Claims Committee shall be held at
the Seat of the Fund. In exceptional cases, however, where the
fulfilment of the Committees functions so requires, Sessions may also
be held at other places by unanimous decision of the Committee.
(2) Sessions of the Claims Committee shall be convened by the Chairman,
taking into account in particular the quantity of pending work and the
need for its efficient despatch. A Session shall also be convened by
the Chairman upon request of the other two Committee Members. The
Secretary General may propose to the Chairman the convening of a
Session. (3) A Session of the Claims Committee requires the presence of all three of its Members. (4) The Chairman shall preside over the Sessions of the Claims Committee.
(5) Sessions of the Claims Committee shall be held in private; neither
claimants nor their representatives shall be present. Apart from the
Committee Members themselves and the members of the Secretariat, there
shall be admitted to the Sessions those persons whose presence is
required for the conduct of the business as well as for the technical
and administrative support of the proceedings. In accordance with
Sections 10, 14 and 19 the Claims Committee may grant other persons
admission to particular segments of its proceedings. (6) A Record shall be maintained of each Session of the Claims Committee. The Record shall be signed by the Chairman.Sect. 8 Working Languages
(1) The working languages are English and German. Interpretation shall
be provided for all Sessions of the Claims Committee. (2) All
communications addressed to the Claims Committee and documents shall be
submitted in one of the working languages. If a document is not
available in one of the working languages, the Applicant shall furnish
a translation. In exceptional cases, the Claims Committee may require a
sworn translation. (3) If documents remain untranslated even
after an express request to that effect, the Claims Committee may
decide to leave those documents out of account in handling the Claim.Sect. 9 Decision-making within the Claims Committee
(1) Except insofar as the Law or the Rules expressly provide for
unanimity, the Claims Committee shall take its decisions by simple
majority with the participation of all its Members. Each Member of the
Committee shall be required to cast a vote. (2) In accordance
with Section 10, paragraph 2 and Section 16, paragraph 1, taken
together with Section 15, paragraph 1, subparagraph 2 of the Law,
unanimity shall be required for a decision by the Claims Committee that
a previous decision of an Austrian court or administrative authority
constituted an extreme injustice. (3) Decisions of the Claims
Committee may be taken through a procedure by correspondence, in which
the vote of each Member of the Claims Committee is cast in writing on
one or more specific questions. A Record shall be kept of all decisions
reached through the correspondence procedure. The Record shall be
communicated to all Members of the Claims Committee and shall be signed
by the Chairman.Part 3 - ApplicationsSect. 10 Eligibility
(1) In accordance with Section 6, paragraph 1 of the Law, persons (and,
in the claims-based procedure, associations) shall be eligible to file
Applications if they were persecuted by the National Socialist regime
on political grounds, on grounds of origin, religion, nationality,
sexual orientation, on the ground of physical or mental handicap, or on
the ground of an accusation of so-called asociality, or if they left
the country to escape such persecution, and suffered loss or damage as
a result of or in connection with events having occurred on the
territory of the present-day Republic of Austria during the National
Socialist era. (2) In accordance with Section 6, paragraph 2 of
the Law, heirs of persons who would, but for their death, have been
eligible claimants pursuant to paragraph 1 shall be eligible to file
Applications; for this purpose the provisions of the General Civil Code
shall be applied mutatis mutandis. In the case of a dissolved
association, an association which the Claims Committee regards as the
legal successor shall be entitled to file an Application.Sect. 10a Co-heirs
(1) In cases in which it appears that the Applicant is claiming on
behalf of one or more of his co-heirs as well as himself, the Applicant
(called hereafter the original Applicant) will be entitled to payment
of the inheritance shares of the co-heirs in addition to his own share.
All Applicants shall be informed of this rule. They have then the
opportunity to apply to the General Settlement Fund within three months. (2) The prerequisites for the payment of additional inheritance shares according to paragraph 1 shall be:
1. a written application to that effect by the original Applicant no
later than three months after notification by the General Settlement
Fund, which must be accompanied by a written declaration stating that
the co-heirs assign all their rights to payment out of the General
Settlement Fund to the original Applicant; 2. the inheritance title
of the co-heirs has to be proved according to the standards of proof
laid down in Section 16 paragraph 2 of the Rules of Procedure.Sect. 11 Applicants and their representatives
(1) Applicants may be represented. Representatives of Applicants must
produce a power of attorney establishing their status. (2)
Applicants and their representatives shall have the right to have
access to the file with the exception of records of deliberations and
decision-making by the Claims Committee.Sect. 12 Quantification of the loss or damage suffered (1) It shall lie with the Claims Committee to determine the Claim Value.
(2) Claims Values shall be based on the historic value of the loss or
damage suffered, uprated to present day values by a factor to be
determined by the Claims Committee. (3) Applicants may put
forward their own estimate for the historic values but these are not
binding on the Claims Committee.Sect. 13 Time limits (1) Applications must be submitted not later than 28th May 2003.
(2) The time limit for Applications shall also be regarded as met if
either the postcard distributed by the Fund to request Application
forms, or a comparable written item, has been received by the General
Settlement Fund by the date specified in paragraph 1. In such cases,
Application forms will be taken into consideration if submitted to the
General Settlement Fund not later than six months after the date
specified in paragraph 1. (3) In exceptional cases where
evidence exists to show that the Application form was completed and
dispatched before the expiry of the time limit or in which the
Applicant, on grounds of ill-health, was genuinely unable to complete
the Application, Application forms received immediately after the
closing date by the General Settlement Fund may nevertheless be
considered. (4) Co-heirs of Applicants who submitted a timely
Application according to paragraphs 1 and 2 can file an Application in
their own name within six months after the date specified in paragraph
1, provided that their names were on record with the General Settlement
Fund by the closing date of 28th May 2003. (5) Applications
transferred to the Claims Committee under Section 22 of the Rules of
Procedure of the Arbitration Panel will also be considered, provided
that they have been received by the General Settlement Fund by the date
specified in paragraph 1 and have been transferred to the Claims
Committee not later than six months from that date. (6)
Insurance claims transferred to the General Settlement Fund under the
Agreement concluded on 26th November 2003 between the International
Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance Claims (ICHEIC) and the General
Settlement Fund will also be considered, provided that they have been
transferred to the General Settlement Fund not later than six months
from the date specified in paragraph 1.Part 4 - ProcedureSect. 14 Taking of evidence
(1) The Claims Committee may decide to hear evidence from witnesses,
including from Applicants or their representatives so far as they are
being heard as witnesses. The Claims Committee may also decide to hear
experts either on general issues or in relation to particular claims. (2) Witness and other evidence may be given either orally or in writing, as the Claims Committee may decide.
(3) If the Claims Committee hears witness evidence or expert evidence
on a particular claim, the Applicant shall be informed and will have
access to the record of the evidence on the file.Sect. 15 Choice of procedure
In accordance with Section 9 of the Law, compensation for loss or
damage within the meaning of Section 7 of the Law may be claimed under
either the claims-based or the equity-based procedure. Only one
Application may be made in either procedure, which may encompass loss
and damage falling within several categories. It is however not
permissible to make simultaneous Applications under both procedures for
one and the same loss or damage. Should there be sufficient
evidence, the Claims Committee may consider under the claims-based
procedure a claim which has been submitted under the equity-based
procedure, after notification of the Applicant. Should
there be sufficient evidence, the Claims Committee will consider under
the claims-based procedure a claim which has been submitted under the
equity-based procedure. The Applicant will be so notified.Sect. 16 Evidence and burden of proof
(1) The Applicant is required to produce all of the evidence available
to him which tends to establish the credibility of his claim. The
Applicant may at any time be requested to furnish further evidentiary
material.. (2) As provided in the Law, the Claims Committee
shall determine individual claims on the basis of the available
evidence in accordance with relaxed standards of proof. The Claims
Committee shall for that purpose decide what weight to attach to any
given item of evidence.The Claims-based ProcedureSect. 17 Claim and Payment Values
(1) (a) If the Claims Committee comes to the conclusion that an
Applicant fulfils the conditions laid down in Section 15 of the Law, it
shall establish a consolidated sum representing all of the accepted
claims put forward by the Applicant (Claim Value). The Applicant shall
be so notified. (b) In the event, however, that procedures
which have to be taken into account according to Section 16, paragraph
2 of the Law are not yet concluded, the Claims Committee will not for
the time being proceed to establish a Claim Value. The Applicant shall
be so notified. (2) (2) If the Claims Committee comes to the
conclusion that a claim fails on the merits, it shall reject the
Application. The Applicant shall be so notified with a statement of the
reasons. In accordance with Section 9 of the Law, following complete
and final rejection of an Application under the claims-based procedure
the Claims Committee will deal with the Application under the
equity-based procedure. (3) After expiry of the period for
Applications in accordance with Section 8 of the Law and determinations
have been reached on all Applications, the Claims Committee shall
establish for each Applicant a pro rata reduced sum (Payment Value) on
the basis of the total of established Claim Values in relation to the
total amount set aside for the claims-based procedure under Section 5
of the Law. (4) In accordance with Section 16 of the Law, no Payment Value may exceed 2 million US Dollars.
(5) If new evidence, in particular concerning inheritance, has been
produced, the Claims Committee may reopen the establishment of a Claim
Value at any time before the Payment Values have been established under
paragraph 3. The Applicant shall be so notified and shall be given
opportunity to comment.Sect. 18 Recourse (1) An
Applicant may, in the event of the rejection of his Application and its
transfer to the equity-based procedure, make an Application for a fresh
determination. The Applicant may similarly apply if the Claims
Committee has assigned a historic value which is lower by more than 20%
from the historic value estimated by the Applicant. The Applicant shall
put forward the grounds in favour of an alteration of the original
determination. Reference to new circumstances or to factual or legal
errors in the determination by the Claims Committee shall in particular
rank as such grounds. (2) The notice to the Applicant of the
determination of his claim by the Claims Committee shall include an
explanation of the rights of recourse open to him. The notice shall be
signed by the Chairman of the Claims Committee. (3) If the
Applicant is resident in Austria, the time limit for the right of
recourse shall be 30 days from the delivery of the notice. If the
Applicant is resident outside Austria, the time limit for the right of
recourse shall be 60 days from delivery of the notice. (4)
The Claims Committee will consider all Applications under this section
as soon as possible. The Applicant will be notified of the outcome.Sect. 19 Observers
(1) The Claims Committee may decide pursuant to Section 12, paragraph 3
of the Law to invite legal persons who, in accordance with their
statutes, represent the interests of the groups of persons specified in
Section 6 of the Law to nominate observers to attend designated
Sessions of the Committee. Each organization may nominate one observer
only. (2) Observers duly nominated under paragraph 1 shall
have the possibility to attend at their own expense those general
deliberations designated by the Claims Committee, but not under any
circumstances determinations or decisions by the Claims Committee.
Observers will be notified of the date of all designated Sessions and
the Agenda. (3) Observers shall have no right of access to files.Sect. 20 Decisions in respect of insurance policies
(1) In accordance with Section 18, paragraph 1 of the Law, the Claims
Committee shall apply, mutatis mutandis, in respect of insurance
policies, the International Commission on Holocaust Era Insurance
Claims (ICHEIC) Rules for the decision of claims, including those
concerning valuation, the standard of proof and the corresponding
decisions of the Chairman; for this purpose, the rules in question
shall be those established by ICHEIC as at the time of the adoption of
these Rules. (2) Legal succession in respect of insurance
policies shall however be determined in accordance with Section 6
paragraph 2 of the Law. The Equity-based ProcedureSect. 21 Payments by household
(1) Equitable payments from the Fund will be allocated by household.
The Claims Committee may not award more than one equitable payment to
any household. Payments will be lump sums at three different levels.
The size of these sums will be decided by the Claims Committee taking
into account the number of claims in the equity-based procedure. The
amount available for the equity-based procedure pursuant to Section 5
of the Law shall be divided by the number of those persons who lived in
domestic units between 12th March 1938 and 9th May 1945. Only those
domestic units will be taken into account in respect of which a valid
Application has been submitted. (2) There shall
rank as a household within the meaning of Section 21, paragraph 2 of
the Law any freely chosen domestic unit on the territory of the
present-day Republic of Austria.Sect. 21 Equity-based Payments
If the Claims Committee has reason to believe that the requirements of
Section 20 of the Law are fulfilled, the Claims Committee will award
the Applicant an equity-based payment.Sect. 22 Recourse There shall be no right of recourse against decisions of the Claims Committee in the equity-based procedure.Sect. 22a Service(1) Service of documents under these Rules of Procedure will be considered to have been effected within Austria on the second working day after their despatch by the General Settlement Fund or outside Austria on the fifth working day after their despatch by the General Settlement Fund.(2) Where service is required on any person or persons but the address for service or the identity of the recipients cannot be ascertained without difficulty, service may be effected by means of deposit with the Secretary General in accordance with paragraphs (3) and (4) below.(3) Service by means of deposit under paragraph (2) above shall immediately be announced on the website of the General Settlement Fund but in a form that preserves the anonymity of the beneficiaries.(4) Service shall be considered as having been effected one month after the deposit of the documents with the Secretary General.(5) All documents which the General Settlement Fund has not been able to serve by 31 December 2013 shall be served by deposit under paragraphs (2), (3) and (4) above.Sect. 22b Time limitsThe Secretary General may be authorized by the Claims Committee to set reasonable time limits for undertaking procedural steps.Part 5 - Handling of Files and Carrying out of DecisionsSect. 23 Handling of files
The Claims Committee shall lay down an internal division of
responsibilities, according to which a Member of the Claims Committee
will be designated the Reporting Member for each Application. It shall
be the duty of the Reporting Member to submit to the Claims Committee
in writing a draft determination. Procedural decisions may be taken
either by the Reporting Member or by the responsible member of the
staff of the General Settlement Fund to whom the Application has been
allocated.Sect. 24 Carrying out of decisions The Secretary General is responsible for carrying out the decisions and determinations of the Claims Committee.Part 6 - Data ProtectionSect. 25 Data protection
Personal data relating to persons who have approached the Fund shall be
protected in accordance with the applicable legislation, and may only
be used within the framework of the fulfilment of functions in the