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Marshall Islands Nuclear Claims Tribunal is an international
arbitral tribunal An arbitral tribunal or arbitration tribunal, also arbitration commission, arbitration committee or arbitration council is a panel of unbiased adjudicators which is convened and sits to resolve a dispute by way of arbitration. The tribunal may c ...
established pursuant to the Agreement Between the Government of the
United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
and the Government of the
Marshall Islands The Marshall Islands ( mh, Ṃajeḷ), officially the Republic of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Aolepān Aorōkin Ṃajeḷ),'' () is an independent island country and microstate near the Equator in the Pacific Ocean, slightly west of the Internati ...
for the Implementation of Section 177 of the
Compact of Free Association The Compact of Free Association (COFA) is an international agreement establishing and governing the relationships of free association between the United States and the three Pacific Island sovereign states of the Federated States of Micronesia (F ...
(also known as 177 Agreement). The Claims Tribunal has the "jurisdiction to render final determination upon all claims past, present and future, of the Government, citizens and nationals of the Marshall Islands which are based on, arise out of, or are in any way related to the
merican ''Merican'' is an EP by the American punk rock band the Descendents, released February 10, 2004. It was the band's first release for Fat Wreck Chords and served as a pre-release to their sixth studio album ''Cool to Be You'', released the follow ...
Nuclear Testing Program." It was established in 1988. It has effectively ceased functioning around 2011, having run out of funds a few years earlier, with the
United States government The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...
, which originally funded it, declining to provide it with additional resources.


Background

From June 30, 1946, to August 18, 1958, the United States detonated sixty-seven nuclear bombs with a total yield of on the
Bikini A bikini is a two-piece swimsuit primarily worn by women that features two triangles of fabric on top that cover the breasts, and two triangles of fabric on the bottom: the front covering the pelvis but exposing the navel, and the back coveri ...
and Enewet atolls of the Marshall Islands, resulting in significant damage to the atolls and nearby areas. From 1981, several cases were brought by Marshall Island inhabitants in front of the
United States Court of Claims The Court of Claims was a federal court that heard claims against the United States government. It was established in 1855, renamed in 1948 to the United States Court of Claims (), and abolished in 1982. Then, its jurisdiction was assumed by the n ...
. Following the signing of the
Compact of Free Association The Compact of Free Association (COFA) is an international agreement establishing and governing the relationships of free association between the United States and the three Pacific Island sovereign states of the Federated States of Micronesia (F ...
between the US and MI governments, the Republic of the Marshall Island (RMI) agreed to "espouse and dismiss" the private damages claims of its citizens that were in front of the US Court of Claims in exchange for the US government establishment of $150 million trust fund for settlement of all claims which was to be used to compensate the affected Marshallese citizens over time. In addition, the agreement indemnified the parties and the government shall use the fund such that "The amount of such indemnification shall not, in the aggregate, exceed $150 million".


Composition

The Tribunal consisted of three members, a chairman and two other members, all appointed by the RMI government. The Tribunal had several officers, including a public advocate, a defender of the fund, a financial officer, and a clerk, nominated by the chairman and appointed by the Tribunal.


Activities


History

To process those claims, an independent Nuclear Claims Tribunal was established in the Marshalls Islands following the passage of the Nuclear Claims Tribunal Act in 1987 by the Marshall Islands legislature; the tribunal became active in 1988, with the appointment of its first chairman, Bruce Piggott of Australia. The first years of the tribunal were "marked by controversy, tension and periodic inactivity as members of the
Nitijela The Legislature of the Marshall Islands ( mh, Nitijeļā ) has 33 members, elected for a four-year term in single-seat and five multi-seat constituencies. The last election was November 18, 2019. Elections in the Marshall Islands are officially ...
quarreled with the first Members of the Tribunal about how the Tribunal should conduct its business". Major cases the tribunal heard include five class-action claims: the Enewetak Class Action (1990–2000, over $300 million awarded);
Utirik Utirik Atoll or Utrik Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) is a coral atoll of 10 islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is only , but it encloses a lagoon with an area ...
and
Rongelap Rongelap Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) is a coral atoll of 61 islands (or motus) in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ralik Chain of the Marshall Islands. Its total land area is . It encloses a lagoon with an area of . ...
(both started in 1991, awarded over $300 million in 2006 and over $1 billion 2006 respectively); and Bikini (1993–2001, over $563 million awarded). The fifth class-action claim filed on behalf of the
Ailuk Atoll Ailuk Atoll ( Marshallese: , ) is a coral atoll of 57 islets in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district of the Ratak Chain of the Marshall Islands. It is located approximately north from Wotje. Its total land area is only , but it en ...
was opened in the mid-2000s as well. The tribunal also awarded personal injury awards of over $90m as of 2006. The $150 million fund was designed to generate interest to allow for payouts exceeding its initial value. It was, however, subject to normal market economics, and its growth was not steady; it incurred a significant loss in the
Black Monday Black Monday refers to specific Mondays when undesirable or turbulent events have occurred. It has been used to designate massacres, military battles, and stock market crashes. Historic events *1209, Dublin – when a group of 500 recently arriv ...
stock market crash of 1987–1988, for example. The fund was able to generate and distribute at least $270 million worth of compensation. Nonetheless, in 1997 the tribunal noted that the funds received from US in the 1980s were inadequate, and by 2000 the RMI Government concurred that the trust fund had become "manifestly inadequate" to provide the compensation the Section 177 of the Compact of Free Association promised. On September 11, 2000, it filed a petition with the US Congress seeking further compensation from the United States under the "Changed Circumstances" provision of the Section 177. By that time, the US had already approved compensation claims of more than $562 million under the
Radiation Exposure Compensation Act The United States Radiation Exposure Compensation Act (RECA) is a federal statute providing for the monetary compensation of people, including atomic veterans, who contracted cancer and a number of other specified diseases as a direct result of t ...
by persons injured as a result of nuclear tests in Nevada that the Kirkpatrick & Lockhart LLP report of 2003 noted "were much smaller in number and magnitude than the tests conducted in the Marshall Islands". The 2000 RMI request to the US Congress was rejected with the statement that the submission was not the ‘changed circumstances” contemplated by the agreement. Some have described this as "ignored", and the tribunal has exhausted its funds, unable to pay remaining claimants by 2009, at which time it had awarded more than $2 billion for personal injury, property loss, and class-action claims, with much of that amount not paid to the claimants because of the lack of funds. The United States Court of Federal Claims has rejected a claim from some Marshall Islands inhabitants, noting that the respective governments had already reached an agreement over claims, though also noting that the claimants can seek additional compensation from the US Congress. Facing the reduction of its available funds, the Tribunal has been forced to limit its payments; noting that "For the first nine months of 2006, an initial payment was made in the amount of 15% of each new or amended award. Effective October 1, 2006, the initial payment level was reduced to 5% of the amount of the compensation awarded." By the mid-2010s, about half of the valid claimants had died waiting for their compensation. The issue was discussed by the United States House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific regarding the commitments of the United States to address the impacts of U.S. nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands. Speakers noted that while section 177 of the Compact of Free Association recognized the United States' responsibility "to address past, present and future consequences of the nuclear testing claims", they described less than $4 million was awarded he actual number was higherand the other $2.2 billion judgments rendered by a Nuclear Claims Tribunal created under the RMI Compact were not supported. The
United States Court of Claims The Court of Claims was a federal court that heard claims against the United States government. It was established in 1855, renamed in 1948 to the United States Court of Claims (), and abolished in 1982. Then, its jurisdiction was assumed by the n ...
had dismissed two lawsuits to enforce the judgement. With respect to these unaddressed claims, medical practitioners also noted the potential widespread impacts of nuclear testing within the
Pacific Proving Grounds The Pacific Proving Grounds was the name given by the United States government to a number of sites in the Marshall Islands and a few other sites in the Pacific Ocean at which it conducted nuclear testing between 1946 and 1962. The U.S. tested a ...
, indicated by the prevalence of radiogenic diseases as well as heart disease, diabetes, and obesity associated with " forced changed in dietary patterns and lifestyle" resulting from U.S. administration after the testing.


Present day

The tribunal effectively ceased functioning around 2011 with a 2012 media report noting that "there have been no judges employed by the Tribunal for more than a year, and although the Tribunal remains open, it is now staffed only on a part-time basis". The official webpage of the NCT went offline in mid-2014.nuclearclaimstribunal.com
(the official page of the NCT went offline in mid-2014; this is the latest copy available from
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
)
A 2015 news report noted that the office of the Tribunal was still semi-functional around that time, "the rent being paid by the Marshallese government in order to keep it open as a record of unpaid claims. Stacks of uncompensated claims could be seen in boxes piled high around the office." The only avenue for further action according to the agreement, is to make requests of the U.S. Congress for further funds. It is now a political question based on the moral question of responsibility.


Notes


See also

*
Iran–United States Claims Tribunal The Iran–United States Claims Tribunal (IUSCT) is an international arbitral tribunal established by the Algiers Accords, an international agreement between the U.S. and Iran embodied in two Declarations by the Government of the Democratic and ...


References

{{reflist, 30em


External links


MARSHALL ISLANDS NUCLEAR CLAIMS TRIBUNAL ACT 1987

nuclearclaimstribunal.com
(the official page of the NCT went offline in mid-2014; this is the latest copy available from
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music, ...
) International arbitration courts and tribunals 1988 establishments in Oceania Marshall Islands–United States relations Organizations based in the Marshall Islands Law of the Marshall Islands American nuclear weapons testing